Market Buzz: High Options Trading Volumes for Merck, Humana, and Broadcom

Today’s trading activity reveals significant movements in options for several major companies in the S&P 500 index.

Merck’s Options Activity Surges

Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK) is attracting attention with impressive options trading volume today. A total of 138,904 contracts have crossed the market, equating to about 13.9 million underlying shares. This figure represents roughly 92.9% of MRK’s average daily trading volume of 15.0 million shares over the past month. Notably, the $85 strike put option expiring on March 28, 2025, has seen heightened activity, with 63,032 contracts traded today, representing approximately 6.3 million underlying shares of MRK. Below is a chart illustrating MRK’s trading history for the past twelve months, with the $85 strike highlighted in orange:

Humana’s Trading Volume Reflects Strong Interest

Humana Inc. (Symbol: HUM) is also witnessing notable options activity today, with 12,917 contracts traded — equivalent to around 1.3 million underlying shares. This volume corresponds to approximately 82.5% of HUM’s average daily trading volume of 1.6 million shares for the past month. The $310 strike call option expiring on February 21, 2025, is particularly active, showing 1,933 contracts traded thus far, representing about 193,300 underlying shares of HUM. The following chart shows HUM’s twelve-month trading history, with the $310 strike highlighted in orange:

Broadcom Sees Strong Options Trading Volume

Options trading for Broadcom Inc (Symbol: AVGO) is robust today, with 154,888 contracts traded, which translates to around 15.5 million underlying shares. This volume represents 49.7% of AVGO’s average daily trading volume of 31.2 million shares in the past month. The $235 strike call option set to expire on February 14, 2025, has also caught the market’s eye, with 16,197 contracts traded today, representing about 1.6 million underlying shares of AVGO. A chart of AVGO’s trading history over the past twelve months is displayed below, with the $235 strike highlighted in orange:

To explore the various available expirations for MRK, HUM, or AVGO options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.

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

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