Merck (MRK) Options Chain

NYSE: MRKHealth CareBiotechnology: Pharmaceutical PreparationsUSD

145.60+3.22 (+2.26%)

At close: Oct 9, 4:02 PM ET · Delayed 15 min

Expiration date

Expiration: Oct 16, 2026
Days to expiration: 5
Share price: $145.60
Put/call ratio (OI): 0.59
Put/call ratio (volume): 0.16
ATM implied volatility: 30.8%
Expected move: ±$5.24
Open interest (C / P): 50.44K / 29.77K

MRK options summary

The MRK options chain for the October 16, 2026 expiration lists 46 call and 41 put contracts, with 5 days until expiration. Open interest stands at 50,440 calls and 29,769 puts, a put/call ratio of 0.59, which is tilted bullish, with calls outnumbering puts. At-the-money implied volatility near the $146.00 strike is 30.8%, which implies the market expects a move of about ±$5.24 (3.6%) in Merck stock by expiration.

The most open interest sits at the $165.00 call (14.36K contracts) and the $105.00 put (4.36K contracts).

Summary generated from market data by MetaCap's automated system. Methodology

MRK options chain · October 16, 2026

MRK calls and puts by strike price. Shaded cells are in the money.
Calls							Puts
OI	Vol	IV	Last	Bid	Ask	Strike	Bid	Ask	Last	IV	Vol	OI
8	7	321.5%	79.95	79.30	82.65	65.00	0.00	0.45	0.02	296.9%	4	15
3	3	207.8%	77.70	73.65	77.60	70.00	0.00	0.00	0.02	50.0%	2	0
—	—	—	—	—	—	75.00	0.00	2.13	0.01	328.3%	3	253
0	140	330.4%	64.45	63.70	67.20	80.00	0.00	2.13	0.01	300.8%	2	106
0	1,340	177.3%	59.40	59.55	61.80	85.00	0.00	2.13	0.05	274.7%	2	362
0	435	160.2%	54.20	53.70	57.65	90.00	0.00	0.24	0.03	170.3%	1	307
0	15	181.0%	49.15	49.55	52.35	95.00	0.00	0.01	0.01	109.4%	3	2,349
0	580	168.0%	44.40	44.35	47.70	100.00	0.00	2.13	0.04	204.2%	8	2,576
0	4,040	127.9%	39.90	39.35	42.20	105.00	0.00	2.13	0.01	182.6%	20	4,359
2	2	119.0%	36.98	34.65	37.05	110.00	0.00	0.13	0.01	96.9%	8	2,108
7	1	94.1%	34.15	29.55	31.95	115.00	0.00	1.50	0.04	129.5%	1	2,140
33	1	83.6%	24.64	24.65	26.95	120.00	0.00	0.20	0.03	74.4%	17	1,830
40	29	73.0%	18.30	19.60	22.15	125.00	0.00	0.06	0.03	51.2%	1	1,643
3,302	6	69.7%	14.50	14.90	16.20	130.00	0.01	0.07	0.02	44.5%	77	1,951
—	—	—	8.79	—	—	131.00	—	—	0.14	—	—	—
—	—	—	7.80	—	—	132.00	—	—	0.14	—	—	—
5	5	54.6%	7.29	11.70	14.40	133.00	0.00	0.12	0.08	40.6%	34	20
—	—	—	6.39	—	—	134.00	0.00	0.12	0.08	37.8%	4	9
1,950	5	53.3%	11.22	10.45	11.25	135.00	0.04	0.17	0.11	37.6%	111	1,520
—	—	—	7.67	—	—	136.00	0.06	0.19	0.15	35.5%	35	37
—	—	—	—	—	—	137.00	0.00	0.30	0.12	36.5%	100	1,114
—	—	—	3.12	—	—	138.00	0.11	0.30	0.18	33.2%	15	138
16	165	52.6%	6.66	6.55	8.00	139.00	0.15	0.42	0.27	33.1%	19	137
1,822	283	38.4%	6.00	5.85	6.45	140.00	0.31	0.42	0.42	29.5%	228	1,797
—	—	—	2.23	—	—	141.00	0.44	0.63	0.59	30.1%	67	88
52	295	41.0%	5.02	4.15	5.15	142.00	0.64	0.88	0.70	30.4%	261	77
91	41	33.7%	3.80	3.50	4.00	143.00	0.85	1.15	1.00	30.0%	175	268
243	184	31.2%	3.52	2.80	3.20	144.00	1.27	1.52	1.40	30.1%	184	82
5,398	436	30.9%	2.62	2.30	2.61	145.00	1.52	1.93	1.81	29.8%	164	2,045
MRK $145.60
62	285	31.7%	1.92	1.79	2.17	146.00	2.12	2.43	2.35	29.8%	57	543
33	518	31.2%	1.55	1.24	1.70	147.00	2.57	3.45	3.45	36.0%	2	49
76	103	32.1%	1.22	1.03	1.40	148.00	3.20	4.00	3.15	35.0%	3	57
368	178	32.3%	1.05	0.71	1.10	149.00	3.40	4.65	3.80	34.6%	1	41
7,503	467	32.2%	0.63	0.60	0.84	150.00	4.10	5.65	4.50	38.9%	22	1,730
575	92	33.1%	0.35	0.20	0.44	152.50	5.95	7.50	8.45	36.7%	1	5
6,457	370	37.5%	0.15	0.11	0.33	155.00	8.35	10.45	11.19	54.3%	1	5
665	18	34.4%	0.06	0.01	0.10	157.50	10.50	13.00	8.75	63.6%	—	0
1,766	20	36.7%	0.04	0.01	0.06	160.00	12.80	15.45	15.19	70.4%	1	6
482	180	42.6%	0.03	0.00	0.07	162.50	—	—	—	—	—	—
14,362	64	47.7%	0.02	0.01	0.07	165.00	17.95	20.45	16.68	85.0%	2	0
30	12	48.4%	0.01	0.00	0.04	167.50	—	—	—	—	—	—
985	1	56.3%	0.01	0.00	0.13	170.00	23.15	25.45	26.06	98.4%	2	2
1,315	2	52.3%	0.02	0.00	0.02	175.00	—	—	—	—	—	—
2,045	2	61.7%	0.01	0.00	0.03	180.00	33.15	35.50	33.70	124.4%	20	0
545	214	78.9%	0.05	0.00	0.10	185.00	—	—	—	—	—	—
137	3	88.3%	0.04	0.00	0.12	190.00	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	91	107.2%	0.01	0.00	0.28	195.00	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	26	165.4%	0.06	0.00	2.13	200.00	—	—	—	—	—	—

In-the-money callsIn-the-money puts. IV = implied volatility, OI = open interest (contracts). Each contract covers 100 shares. Quotes delayed at least 15 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the MRK put/call ratio?

For the October 16, 2026 expiration, the MRK put/call ratio based on open interest is 0.59 (29,769 puts vs 50,440 calls), and 0.16 based on today's volume. A ratio above 1 means more puts than calls.

What is MRK's implied volatility?

At-the-money implied volatility for MRK options expiring October 16, 2026 is about 30.8%, an annualized estimate of how much the market expects Merck stock to move.

How many MRK option expiration dates are there?

MRK has 15 listed expiration dates, from Oct 16, 2026 to Jan 19, 2029.

What does "in the money" mean?

A call is in the money when the strike price is below the current share price; a put is in the money when the strike is above it. In-the-money contracts have intrinsic value and are shaded in the table.