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McKesson (MCK) Flat As Market Sinks: What You Should Know

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McKesson (MCK - Free Report) closed at $375.12 in the latest trading session, marking no change from the prior day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.25%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.22%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 5.91%.

Heading into today, shares of the prescription drug distributor had lost 1.21% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 1.77% and outpacing the S&P 500's loss of 2.59% in that time.

McKesson will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be February 1, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $6.33, up 2.93% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $70.39 billion, up 2.58% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $24.78 per share and revenue of $275.38 billion. These totals would mark changes of +4.6% and +4.32%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for McKesson. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. McKesson currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Looking at its valuation, McKesson is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 15.14. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 19.15, which means McKesson is trading at a discount to the group.

Also, we should mention that MCK has a PEG ratio of 1.51. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Medical - Dental Supplies stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.32 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - Dental Supplies industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 200, putting it in the bottom 21% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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