McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• McKesson’s short interest fell 33% to 2.42 million shares as of August 14, representing about 2.1% of shares outstanding and 2.2 days of average trading volume.
• The company reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, with revenue up 7.7% year over year, and issued FY2027 EPS guidance of $44.20–$45.00. It also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.82 to $0.94 per share.
• Investors face cybersecurity uncertainty after McKesson confirmed an incident involving unauthorized data exfiltration; hackers’ claims of stolen patient records and a roughly $55 million ransom remain unverified, but could create legal, regulatory and reputational risks.

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 2,419,484 shares, a drop of 33.0% from the July 30th total of 3,613,111 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,116,036 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Key McKesson News

Here are the key news stories impacting McKesson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McKesson’s recent operating momentum remains a supportive backdrop: its latest quarterly results exceeded analyst expectations for both earnings and revenue, with revenue rising year over year. That performance and the company’s FY2027 earnings guidance may be helping investors look past the immediate cybersecurity headlines.
• Neutral Sentiment: A retrospective analysis highlights McKesson’s strong long-term shareholder returns, but it is not a new business development or a direct catalyst for the stock. Here's How Much a $1000 Investment in McKesson Made 10 Years Ago Would Be Worth Today
• Negative Sentiment: McKesson confirmed that it is investigating a cybersecurity incident involving the unauthorized exfiltration of certain data. The company has not disclosed the full scope of the affected information or the potential impact on operations. McKesson investigating cybersecurity incident involving exfiltration of certain data
• Negative Sentiment: The hacking group ShinyHunters claims it stole millions—or as many as 284 million—patient records and has threatened to release them. Those figures remain attacker claims rather than independently verified facts, but a confirmed breach involving sensitive healthcare data could lead to notification costs, lawsuits, regulatory penalties and customer concerns. McKesson confirms cybersecurity incident as hackers claim millions of patient records stolen
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that attackers are demanding approximately $55 million in ransom add financial and reputational uncertainty. Investors will be watching for McKesson’s assessment of the data compromised, business disruption, ransom policy and any changes to its outlook. McKesson Faces $55 Million Ransom Demand After Massive Data Breach

McKesson Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of MCK traded up $22.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $907.95. 654,684 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 951,541. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $836.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $842.95. McKesson has a 12-month low of $682.35 and a 12-month high of $999.00. The firm has a market cap of $105.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.30.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $9.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.56 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $105.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.88 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 1.12% and a negative return on equity of 253.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.26 earnings per share. McKesson has set its FY 2027 guidance at 44.200-45.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that McKesson will post 44.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. McKesson's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $875.00 price objective on shares of McKesson in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings cut McKesson from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on McKesson from $989.00 to $1,006.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on McKesson from $945.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of McKesson from $1,107.00 to $1,015.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $973.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 133 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.00, for a total transaction of $101,612.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $482,848. This represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $793.56, for a total transaction of $6,715,898.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,697,081.64. The trade was a 58.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,289 shares of company stock valued at $17,406,854. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its holdings in McKesson by 207.3% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 126,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,263,000 after purchasing an additional 85,044 shares during the last quarter. Formuepleje A S bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the second quarter worth $1,307,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 187 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Grp LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 2.4% during the second quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,297,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in McKesson during the second quarter worth $10,820,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation NYSE: MCK is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company's core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.

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