A whale with a lot of money to spend has taken a noticeably bearish stance on Merck & Co.
Looking at options history for Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK) we detected 10 strange trades.
If we consider the specifics of each trade, it is accurate to state that 20% of the investors opened trades with bullish expectations and 80% with bearish.
From the overall spotted trades, 4 are puts, for a total amount of $188,180 and 6, calls, for a total amount of $5,647,006.
What's The Price Target?
Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $87.5 to $92.5 for Merck & Co over the last 3 months.
Volume & Open Interest Development
Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Merck & Co's options for a given strike price. Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Merck & Co's whale trades within a strike price range from $87.5 to $92.5 in the last 30 days.
Merck & Co Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days
Biggest Options Spotted:
| Symbol | PUT/CALL | Trade Type | Sentiment | Exp. Date | Strike Price | Total Trade Price | Open Interest | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BEARISH | 11/18/22 | $90.00 | $3.6M | 4.2K | 15.0K |
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | BULLISH | 11/18/22 | $90.00 | $1.8M | 4.2K | 5.2K |
| MRK | PUT | SWEEP | BEARISH | 01/20/23 | $87.50 | $94.0K | 4.4K | 209 |
| MRK | CALL | TRADE | BEARISH | 11/18/22 | $90.00 | $39.0K | 4.2K | 16.0K |
| MRK | CALL | SWEEP | NEUTRAL | 01/20/23 | $90.00 | $34.6K | 10.4K | 97 |
Where Is Merck & Co Standing Right Now?
- With a volume of 3,152,041, the price of MRK is up 0.17% at $89.34.
- RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching oversold.
- Next earnings are expected to be released in 77 days.
What The Experts Say On Merck & Co:
- UBS has decided to maintain their Neutral rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $98.
- Atlantic Equities has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $110.
- Morgan Stanley has decided to maintain their Equal-Weight rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $92.
- Barclays has decided to maintain their Overweight rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $101.
- SVB Leerink has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Merck & Co, which currently sits at a price target of $105.
Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.
If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Merck & Co, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.
