• McKesson (MCK) edged to a new record high on Wednesday, taking out its previous record high posted about a month ago on April 4.
• McKesson rallied going into today’s after-market earnings report, raising the bar for earnings performance.
• With today’s report, there is the likelihood of volatility. The options market is discounting a move as large as 5% in either direction.
• Over the past month, six analysts have raised their price targets, none have reduced their price targets, and 11 have left their price targets unchanged.

Company Description:

McKesson (MCK) is a healthcare services and information technology company. McKesson’s Distribution Solutions segment distributes branded and generic pharmaceutical drugs along with other healthcare-related products on a global basis worldwide. The segment also provides practice management, technology, clinical support and business solutions to community-based oncology and other specialty practices. In addition, the segment provides specialty pharmaceutical solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturers, including offering multiple distribution channels and study access to oncology physicians. McKesson’s Technology Solutions segment offers enterprise-wide clinical, patient care, financial, supply chain, and strategic management software solutions. McKesson has a market cap of $90 billion.

Today’s Context:

McKesson on Wednesday edged to a new record high and closed the day 1.59% higher. McKesson rallied as the market seems to expect a bullish Q4 FY2025 earnings report after today’s close. The consensus is for strong revenue growth on the order of 23% year-over-year and adjusted EPS growth of 58% year-over-year. Analysts are expecting strong management EPS guidance for FY2026, which begins this quarter.

What I’m Watching: 

McKesson closed 1.59% higher and edged to a new record high. I found today’s Chart of the Day by using Barchart’s New Highs & Lows page. I then viewed the stocks on the list with the Flipcharts feature. 

What Comes Next: 

The record high signals the possibility of further gains, although it always pays to watch for any temporary downside correction. A downside correction could be used as an entry point.

Key Technical Levels for McKesson: 

Editor’s Note: The technical indicators below are updated live during the session every 20 minutes and can therefore change each day as the market fluctuates. The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com website when you read this report. These technical indicators form the Barchart Opinion on a particular stock.

• The Parabolic Time/Price (50) trading system issued a “Buy” signal on April 21 and has been long since then.
• Barchart’s Overall Average Opinion is a 100% “Buy.”
• All the Barchart Opinion indicators were a “Buy” as of Wednesday, May 7.
• McKesson has been above its 100-day moving average since Nov. 6, 2024.

Analyst Ratings on McKesson:

• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of a “Strong Buy” with a rating of 4.53 out of 5, and price targets between $660 and $805.
• Of 17 analysts, 13 have a “Strong Buy,” four have a “Hold,” and none have “Sell” ratings.
• The average price target of $728.06 is 0.8% above Wednesday’s close, suggesting some room for stock appreciation.

Why It Matters: 

A breakout to a major new high can suggest that a stock has underlying strength to push even higher, although caution is always warranted.

Additional disclosure: The Barchart Chart of the Day highlights stocks that are experiencing exceptional current price appreciation. They are not intended to be buy recommendations as these stocks are extremely volatile and speculative. Should you decide to add one of these stocks to your investment portfolio it is highly suggested you follow a predetermined diversification and moving stop loss discipline that is consistent with your personal investment risk tolerance and reevaluate your stop losses at least on a weekly basis.