MRK241129P00085000 Option on Merck Company

MRK Stock  USD 83.01  0.00  0.00%   
Merck's latest option contracts expiring on May 16th 2025 are carrying combined implied volatility of 0.36 with a put-to-call open interest ratio of 0.21 over 25 outstanding agreements suggesting investors are buying way more calls than puts on contracts expiring on May 16th 2025. The total put volume is at 995, with calls trading at the volume of 1.4 K. This yields a 0.74 put-to-call volume ratio.

Open Interest Against May 16th 2025 Option Contracts

The chart above shows Merck's distribution of open interest by maturity on contracts that have not yet been settled. The area between the two highest points is the projection of the price at expiration. Merck's open interest chart also provides vital information regarding the liquidity of an option. If there is no open interest for Merck's option, there is no secondary market available for investors to trade.

Merck Maximum Pain Price Across 2025-05-16 Option Contracts

Merck's max pain occurs when market makers reach a net positive position across all options at a strike price where option holders stand to lose the most money. By contrast, option sellers may reap the most after selling more options than buying, causing them to expire worthless.

In The Money vs. Out of Money Option Contracts on Merck

Analyzing Merck's in-the-money options over time can help investors to take a profitable long position in Merck regardless of its overall volatility. This is especially true when Merck's options are deep in the money. These options can be identified using deltas that are over 0.75. Deep in-the-money Merck's options could be used as guardians of the underlying stock as they move almost dollar for dollar with Merck's stock while costing only a fraction of its price.

Merck Company In The Money Call Balance

When Merck's strike price is surpassing the current stock price, the option contract against Merck Company stock is said to be in the money. When it comes to buying Merck's options that are 'In the Money' or 'Out of the Money', the choice depends on your outlook for the underlying security, financial situation, and what you are trying to achieve.
While 'out-of-the-money' option contracts written on Merck Company are typically viewed as the more aggressive, there are potential upsides to purchasing these types of options contracts. For one, the cost to buy an 'Out of the Money' option is lower than the cost to buy an 'In the Money' option. This cost-benefit is due to the fact that at the time of the purchase, 'Out of the Money' contracts have no intrinsic value. So, while the potential for a 100% loss is more significant, the cost and risk to enter the trade are lower.

Merck Current Options Market Mood

Merck's open interest and total value indicators provide investors with the necessary information to digest the overall options buildup for its expiring contracts. In addition, it helps Merck Stock's traders understand whether a recent fall or rise in the market is unreasonable and if the time has come to take contrarian positions. These ratios are calculated based on options trading volumes and current open interest.

Put-to-Call Open Interest

Put-to-Call Volume

Unfortunately, most Merck's options investors are not very successful. Merck's option open interest and volume spread between outstanding puts and calls are regarded by many investors as reliable indicators of the overall future market direction.

Rule 16 of the current Merck contract

Base on the Rule 16, the options market is currently suggesting that Merck Company will have an average daily up or down price movement of about 0.0225% per day over the life of the 2025-05-16 option contract. With Merck trading at USD 83.01, that is roughly USD 0.0187. If you think that the market is fully incorporating Merck's daily price movement you should consider buying Merck Company options at the current volatility level of 0.36%. But if you have an opposite viewpoint you should avoid it and even consider selling them.
  
Purchasing Merck options can give investors a meaningful hedge against losses and, therefore, could be used conservatively to decrease the volatility of your portfolio. However, many options could also amount to little more than gambling, significantly enhancing your overall portfolio risk. One simple example of these aggressive strategies is the sale of "uncovered" Merck calls. Remember, the seller must deliver Merck Company stock to the call owner when a call is exercised.

Merck Option Chain

When Merck's strike price is surpassing the current stock price, the option contract against Merck Company stock is said to be in the money. When it comes to buying options that are ITM or OTM, the choice depends on your outlook for the underlying security, financial situation, and what you are trying to achieve.
Merck's option chain is a display of a range of information that helps investors for ways to trade options on Merck. In general, an option chain provides a helpful tool for investors to see all available option contracts, both puts, and calls, for Merck. It also shows strike prices and maturity days for a Merck against a given expiration period. The table below combines all the option information in the form of a chain but before you use it, remember that it entails significant risk and it is not for everyone.
Open IntStrike PriceCurrent SpreadLast Price
Call
MRK250516C000750005075.08.9 - 9.859.38In
Call
MRK250516C000800005680.06.25 - 6.56.5In
Call
MRK250516C000850004385.03.7 - 3.853.83Out
Call
MRK250516C000900009890.01.42 - 2.112.05Out
Call
MRK250516C00095000995.01.01 - 1.091.04Out
Call
MRK250516C0010000056100.00.44 - 0.650.65Out
Call
MRK250516C001050000105.00.3 - 0.330.3Out
Call
MRK250516C00110000102110.00.15 - 0.340.16Out
Call
MRK250516C001150000115.00.05 - 0.790.05Out
Call
MRK250516C001200000120.00.0 - 1.351.35Out
Call
MRK250516C001250000125.00.0 - 1.331.33Out
Call
MRK250516C001300000130.00.0 - 1.311.31Out
 Put
MRK250516P00070000670.00.62 - 0.90.91Out
 Put
MRK250516P000750001475.01.64 - 1.981.68Out
 Put
MRK250516P000800001880.03.15 - 3.43.2Out
 Put
MRK250516P000850003485.05.55 - 5.85.55In
 Put
MRK250516P000900001190.08.05 - 9.98.94In
 Put
MRK250516P00095000395.012.1 - 15.010.6In
 Put
MRK250516P001000000100.017.5 - 17.9517.5In
 Put
MRK250516P001050000105.020.55 - 22.8522.04In
 Put
MRK250516P001100000110.027.15 - 27.8527.15In
 Put
MRK250516P001150000115.031.95 - 32.731.95In
 Put
MRK250516P001200000120.036.95 - 37.7536.95In
 Put
MRK250516P001250000125.041.95 - 42.7541.95In
 Put
MRK250516P001300000130.046.95 - 47.746.95In

Merck Selling And Marketing Expenses Over Time

   Selling And Marketing Expenses   
       Timeline  

Merck Market Cap Over Time

   Market Cap   
       Timeline  

Merck Total Stockholder Equity

Total Stockholder Equity

25.48 Billion

At this time, Merck's Total Stockholder Equity is quite stable compared to the past year.

Merck Corporate Directors

Thomas GlocerLead Independent DirectorProfile
Christine SeidmanIndependent DirectorProfile
Kathy WardenIndependent DirectorProfile
Paul RothmanIndependent DirectorProfile
When determining whether Merck Company is a good investment, qualitative aspects like company management, corporate governance, and ethical practices play a significant role. A comparison with peer companies also provides context and helps to understand if Merck Stock is undervalued or overvalued. This multi-faceted approach, blending both quantitative and qualitative analysis, forms a solid foundation for making an informed investment decision about Merck Company Stock. Highlighted below are key reports to facilitate an investment decision about Merck Company Stock:
Check out Correlation Analysis to better understand how to build diversified portfolios, which includes a position in Merck Company. Also, note that the market value of any company could be closely tied with the direction of predictive economic indicators such as signals in metropolitan statistical area.
You can also try the Latest Portfolios module to quick portfolio dashboard that showcases your latest portfolios.
Is Pharmaceuticals space expected to grow? Or is there an opportunity to expand the business' product line in the future? Factors like these will boost the valuation of Merck. If investors know Merck will grow in the future, the company's valuation will be higher. The financial industry is built on trying to define current growth potential and future valuation accurately. All the valuation information about Merck listed above have to be considered, but the key to understanding future value is determining which factors weigh more heavily than others.
Quarterly Earnings Growth
(0.33)
Dividend Share
3.08
Earnings Share
6.74
Revenue Per Share
25.253
Quarterly Revenue Growth
0.068
The market value of Merck Company is measured differently than its book value, which is the value of Merck that is recorded on the company's balance sheet. Investors also form their own opinion of Merck's value that differs from its market value or its book value, called intrinsic value, which is Merck's true underlying value. Investors use various methods to calculate intrinsic value and buy a stock when its market value falls below its intrinsic value. Because Merck's market value can be influenced by many factors that don't directly affect Merck's underlying business (such as a pandemic or basic market pessimism), market value can vary widely from intrinsic value.
Please note, there is a significant difference between Merck's value and its price as these two are different measures arrived at by different means. Investors typically determine if Merck is a good investment by looking at such factors as earnings, sales, fundamental and technical indicators, competition as well as analyst projections. However, Merck's price is the amount at which it trades on the open market and represents the number that a seller and buyer find agreeable to each party.