MRK wheel: cash-secured put & covered-call yields
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare · $146.95 close on Nov 12, 2026
What the Nov 12, 2026 close says about MRK
At 30.2% implied volatility, the options market is pricing a one-standard-deviation move of about $13.92 (9.5%) in MRK by Dec 18, 2026, 36 days out.
Selling the $140 put (−0.29Δ) for $2.76 means assignment would leave a cost basis of $137.24, 6.6% below the $146.95 close.
The 64-day 0.30Δ put pays 1.5× the premium of the 36-day one for 1.8× the time — more premium per day on the 36-day contract ($0.077 vs $0.066).
At 0.30Δ on the Dec 18 expiry the put yields 1.97% on its strike and the call 1.60% on spot: puts pay 1.2× what calls do on MRK this session.
Moving down to the $135 put (−0.18Δ) buys 3.4% more room below spot and keeps 51% of the 0.30Δ premium.
Open interest in the stored window totals 77,699 contracts; the largest single line is the $130 put expiring Jan 15 with 16,468 (21.2% of the window).
By options volume MRK ranks #142 of 679 names in our universe.
Near-the-money options volume (3.5k) is 543% above its 5-session average.
The builder re-quotes every leg from the live chain when it opens; tracking is free to start.
Cash-secured puts on MRK
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $140 | −0.29 | $2.76 Nov 12 | $276.00 | $14,000 | 1.97% | 20.0% | $137.24 | 3,468 | 1,201 |
| 0.20Δ | $135 | −0.18 | $1.41 Nov 12 | $141.00 | $13,500 | 1.04% | 10.6% | $133.59 | 2,737 | 135 |
Snapshot #9436 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:11 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 36
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Cash secured | Period yield | Annualized | Breakeven | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $140 | −0.32 | $4.25 Nov 12 | $425.00 | $14,000 | 3.04% | 17.3% | $135.75 | 3,728 | 15 |
| 0.20Δ | $135 | −0.23 | $2.50 Nov 12 | $250.00 | $13,500 | 1.85% | 10.6% | $132.50 | 1,358 | 51 |
Snapshot #9436 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:11 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ strike · annualized = yield × 365 ÷ 64
Covered calls on MRK
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $155 | 0.29 | $2.35 Nov 12 | $235.00 | 1.60% | 16.2% | 7.08% | 71.8% | 4,192 | 737 |
| 0.20Δ | $160 | 0.18 | $1.28 Nov 12 | $128.00 | 0.87% | 8.8% | 9.75% | 98.9% | 3,948 | 138 |
Snapshot #9436 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:11 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 36
| Target | Strike | Δ | Last trade | Premium / contract | Yield on spot | Annualized | If called | If called, ann. | OI | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.30Δ | $160 | 0.27 | $2.85 Nov 12 | $285.00 | 1.94% | 11.1% | 10.82% | 61.7% | 3,432 | 45 |
| 0.20Δ | $165 | 0.18 | $1.80 Nov 12 | $180.00 | 1.22% | 7.0% | 13.51% | 77.0% | 5,984 | 60 |
Snapshot #9436 · session 2026-11-12 · captured 22:11 UTC · 15-min delayed · yield = premium ÷ spot · if called = (premium + strike − spot) ÷ spot · annualized × 365 ÷ 64
MRK volatility, dividends and liquidity
- Implied volatility (ATM, ≈30 days)
- 30.2%session 2026-11-12
- IV rank / IV percentile
- Unavailable1
- Next earnings
- Unavailable2
- Next ex-dividend
- None announcedchecked Nov 9, 2026
- Open interest, stored window
- 77,699 contractssession 2026-11-12
- Largest open-interest line
- $130 put · Jan 15 · 16,468
- Bid/ask spread
- Unavailable3
- Options liquidity rank
- #142 of 679 optionable names by options volume
How these numbers are made
One end-of-day snapshot per session from a 15-minute-delayed feed. A premium is a contract’s last trade, used only if it printed that session, sits above intrinsic value and is in order with its neighbours; deltas are the feed’s own. Expiries are the first at least 30 and 60 days out, and nothing under 30 days is annualized. Not investment advice. Full methodology.
- We are building our own daily implied-volatility history (34 of 252 sessions so far); IV rank and percentile need a full year of it.
- Our data provider does not license announced earnings dates, and we do not publish estimates.
- Our data feed carries last trades, not live bid/ask quotes, so we cannot show a spread.