Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK), where a total volume of 32,679 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 3.3 million underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 42.2% of MRK's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 7.7 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $85 strike call option expiring September 20, 2019, with 4,209 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 420,900 underlying shares of MRK. Below is a chart showing MRK's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $85 strike highlighted in orange:
Abbott Laboratories (Symbol: ABT) options are showing a volume of 17,108 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 1.7 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 42.2% of ABT's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 4.1 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $87.50 strike call option expiring October 18, 2019, with 4,102 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 410,200 underlying shares of ABT. Below is a chart showing ABT's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $87.50 strike highlighted in orange:
And Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc (Symbol: ARNA) options are showing a volume of 1,490 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 149,000 underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 41.5% of ARNA's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 358,965 shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $65 strike call option expiring January 17, 2020, with 850 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 85,000 underlying shares of ARNA. Below is a chart showing ARNA's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $65 strike highlighted in orange:
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