MRK
Merck & Co., Inc.
stock NYSE

I was bored at work and spent a while searching last week for this. Best I could tell (check Politico’s reporting), there’s a major pharma drug lowering cost announcement pending (aka why MRK LLY GILD been getting extra beat up lately). There’s some wildly unpopular industry favored nation deal congress won’t support but apparently he’s found an executive order work around?

Would love some portfolio feedback for anyone interested. I'm 40 with a young family. Income is relatively low, but stable in a profession that I love and will keep doing for another 25 years if I am able. I have no worries about retirement funding. No debt.
My wife and I are about to receive a sizable inheritance. I would like to put 220,000 from this inheritance into an income portfolio with the goal of producing \~15,000 in supplemental annual income in order to provide travel opportunities and the like for my family over the next 10 years while maintaining capital (imagine an endowment fund for my family maybe?). Not so much looking for tips on specific stocks/funds but overall philosophy, management, overlaps, risks, etc.
Here's what I've come up with (with allocations):
TFC, VZ, LYB, KVUE, PEP, MRK, AEP, GIS, CVX, MO \[All at 3% each\]
AMLP (5%), MLPA (5%), BIPC (5%) UTG (5%), ASGI (5%) PBDC (10%) PFFA (10%) CEFS (10%) SPG (5%) FSCO (5%) SPYI (5%).
By my calculation, this would put us somewhere near 7.5% yield or around 17,000 in income on 220,000.
Thoughts?

Just came across something interesting – **Merck ($MRK)** has a **PDUFA date** for **WELIREG (belzutifan)** set for **May 26, 2025**, even though it’s still in **Phase 2** (LITESPARK-015 trial). That’s pretty early, right? Most drugs don’t get this kind of fast track until **Phase 3** or later, when there’s more mature data to work with.
For those who aren’t familiar, WELIREG is an **HIF-2α inhibitor** for **advanced, unresectable, or metastatic pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL)**. It’s under **priority review**, which usually means the early data is strong, but it still feels aggressive for a Phase 2 asset.
Adding to the intrigue, recent insider trading data shows Merck insiders have sold about **$1.23M** worth of stock. Could be routine profit-taking, but with a PDUFA this early, it makes me wonder if they know something we don’t.
Anyone else watching this one? Is this a sign to be cautious, or are you playing the run-up anyway?

Yea, healthcare is looking oversold. Also, just look at the bearish sentiment. I bought MRK calls at close.

Yesterday’s overnight OTM RDDT puts expired worthless, +60% gain on scalped SMCI puts, sold flat on calls trying to play the reversal, and bought MRK calls at close.

SMCI puts treated me well today. Bought MRK calls at close. Closed right on support, so not a complete gamble. Especially since we could gap up on Monday with all the trade talk.

## Highest Premium
These options offer the highest ratio of implied volatility (IV) relative to historical volatility (HV). These options are priced to move significantly more than they have moved in the past. Sell iron condors on these as they may be over priced.
| Stock/C/P | % Change | Direction | Put $ | Call $ | Put Premium | Call Premium | E.R. | Beta | Efficiency |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SRPT/45/35 | 1.77% | -278.69 | $2.98 | $2.58 | 1.68 | 1.83 | N/A | 1 | 87.1 |
| INDA/54/52 | 2.21% | 18.01 | $1.23 | $0.98 | 1.57 | 1.43 | N/A | 1 | 82.1 |
| X/47/40 | 0.52% | 9.03 | $4.18 | $2.58 | 1.51 | 1.33 | N/A | 1 | 86.8 |
| GLD/315/304 | 1.05% | 61.33 | $6.2 | $6.1 | 1.28 | 1.41 | N/A | 1 | 98.4 |
| GILD/105/95 | -0.53% | -76.75 | $3.68 | $1.94 | 1.5 | 1.17 | N/A | 1 | 85.1 |
| ILMN/85/75 | -0.5% | -42.88 | $4.45 | $2.75 | 1.19 | 1.13 | N/A | 1 | 80.8 |
| MRK/85/75 | 0.46% | -78.16 | $2.44 | $1.09 | 1.26 | 1.03 | 81 | 1 | 95.6 |
| UCO/22/19 | 0.97% | -96.65 | $1.05 | $0.95 | 1.21 | 1.04 | N/A | 1 | 85.2 |
| USO/69/64 | 0.59% | -45.14 | $2.18 | $1.99 | 1.14 | 1.1 | N/A | 1 | 92.0 |
| REGN/575/535 | 0.08% | -87.67 | $23.05 | $20.35 | 1.13 | 1.08 | N/A | 1 | 76.0 |
## Expensive Calls
These call options offer the highest ratio of bullish premium paid (IV) relative to historical volatility (HV). These options are priced expecting the underlying to move up significantly more than it has moved up in the past. Sell these calls.
| Stock/C/P | % Change | Direction | Put $ | Call $ | Put Premium | Call Premium | E.R. | Beta | Efficiency |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SRPT/45/35 | 1.77% | -278.69 | $2.98 | $2.58 | 1.68 | 1.83 | N/A | 1 | 87.1 |
| INDA/54/52 | 2.21% | 18.01 | $1.23 | $0.98 | 1.57 | 1.43 | N/A | 1 | 82.1 |
| GLD/315/304 | 1.05% | 61.33 | $6.2 | $6.1 | 1.28 | 1.41 | N/A | 1 | 98.4 |
| X/47/40 | 0.52% | 9.03 | $4.18 | $2.58 | 1.51 | 1.33 | N/A | 1 | 86.8 |
| GILD/105/95 | -0.53% | -76.75 | $3.68 | $1.94 | 1.5 | 1.17 | N/A | 1 | 85.1 |
| ILMN/85/75 | -0.5% | -42.88 | $4.45 | $2.75 | 1.19 | 1.13 | N/A | 1 | 80.8 |
| USO/69/64 | 0.59% | -45.14 | $2.18 | $1.99 | 1.14 | 1.1 | N/A | 1 | 92.0 |
| REGN/575/535 | 0.08% | -87.67 | $23.05 | $20.35 | 1.13 | 1.08 | N/A | 1 | 76.0 |
| SLV/31/29 | 0.92% | 13.08 | $0.68 | $0.64 | 0.98 | 1.05 | N/A | 1 | 98.5 |
| JNUG/80/70 | 4.44% | 114.94 | $6.95 | $4.55 | 1.07 | 1.04 | N/A | 1 | 90.9 |
## Expensive Puts
These put options offer the highest ratio of bearish premium paid (IV) relative to historical volatility (HV). These options are priced expecting the underlying to move down significantly more than it has moved down in the past. Sell these puts.
| Stock/C/P | % Change | Direction | Put $ | Call $ | Put Premium | Call Premium | E.R. | Beta | Efficiency |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SRPT/45/35 | 1.77% | -278.69 | $2.98 | $2.58 | 1.68 | 1.83 | N/A | 1 | 87.1 |
| INDA/54/52 | 2.21% | 18.01 | $1.23 | $0.98 | 1.57 | 1.43 | N/A | 1 | 82.1 |
| X/47/40 | 0.52% | 9.03 | $4.18 | $2.58 | 1.51 | 1.33 | N/A | 1 | 86.8 |
| GILD/105/95 | -0.53% | -76.75 | $3.68 | $1.94 | 1.5 | 1.17 | N/A | 1 | 85.1 |
| GLD/315/304 | 1.05% | 61.33 | $6.2 | $6.1 | 1.28 | 1.41 | N/A | 1 | 98.4 |
| MRK/85/75 | 0.46% | -78.16 | $2.44 | $1.09 | 1.26 | 1.03 | 81 | 1 | 95.6 |
| HYG/79/78 | 0.2% | -56.63 | $0.57 | $0.43 | 1.24 | 0.69 | N/A | 1 | 95.1 |
| UCO/22/19 | 0.97% | -96.65 | $1.05 | $0.95 | 1.21 | 1.04 | N/A | 1 | 85.2 |
| ILMN/85/75 | -0.5% | -42.88 | $4.45 | $2.75 | 1.19 | 1.13 | N/A | 1 | 80.8 |
| IBB/124/118 | 0.15% | -47.21 | $3.8 | $2.98 | 1.16 | 1.01 | N/A | 1 | 93.2 |
- **Historical Move v Implied Move:** We determine the historical volatility (standard deviation of daily log returns) of the underlying asset and compare that to the current implied volatility (IV) of the option price. We use the same DTE as a look back period. This is used to determine the Call or Put Premium associated with the pricing of options (implied volatility).

- **Directional Bias:** Ranges from negative (bearish) to positive (bullish) and accounts for RSI, price trend, moving averages, and put/call skew over the past 6 weeks.
- **Priced Move:** given the current option prices, how much in dollar amounts will the underlying have to move to make the call/put break even. This is how much vol the option is pricing in. The expected move.
- **Expiration:** 2025-06-20.
- **Call/Put Premium:** How much extra you are paying for the implied move relative to the historic move. Low numbers mean options are "cheaper." High numbers mean options are "expensive."
- **Efficiency:** This factor represents the bid/ask spreads and the depth of the order book relative to the price of the option. It represents how much traders will pay in slippage with a round trip trade. Lower numbers are less efficient than higher numbers.
- **E.R.:** Days unitl the next Earnings Release. This feature is still in beta as we work on a more complete list of earnings dates.
- **Why isn't my stock on this list?** It doesn't have "weeklies", the underlying is "too cheap", or the options markets are too illiquid (open interest) to qualify for this strategy. 480 underlyings are used in this report and only the top results end up passing the criteria for each filter.

Buy the rumor: Trump soon to sign EO, as early as next week, expected to announce plan to lower U.S. prescription drug costs by tying Medicare payments for certain drugs to the lowest prices paid in other wealthy countries (a "most favored nation" (MFN) model?)
What are your thoughts?...I would say short XBI, PFE, LLY, MRK, JNJ, BYM, GILD and long HIMS, TEVA, VTRS...? No positions presently but currently researching