Notable Thursday Option Activity: MRK, INTC, NVDA

Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK), where a total volume of 130,703 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 13.1 million underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 75.7% of MRK's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 17.3 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $85 strike put option expiring March 28, 2025, with 64,486 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 6.4 million underlying shares of MRK. Below is a chart showing MRK's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $85 strike highlighted in orange:

Intel Corp (Symbol: INTC) saw options trading volume of 978,728 contracts, representing approximately 97.9 million underlying shares or approximately 73.3% of INTC's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 133.6 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $24 strike call option expiring March 14, 2025, with 38,564 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 3.9 million underlying shares of INTC. Below is a chart showing INTC's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $24 strike highlighted in orange:

And NVIDIA Corp (Symbol: NVDA) saw options trading volume of 2.1 million contracts, representing approximately 206.2 million underlying shares or approximately 71.2% of NVDA's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 289.5 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $115 strike put option expiring March 14, 2025, with 89,517 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 9.0 million underlying shares of NVDA. Below is a chart showing NVDA's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $115 strike highlighted in orange:

For the various different available expirations for MRK options, INTC options, or NVDA options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.

Today's Most Active Call & Put Options of the S&P 500 »

Also see:

• Stock market game
• SAVA market cap history
• ITIC Next Dividend Date

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.