Go to the list of all blogs
Harry Richardson's Avatar
published in Blogs
Jan 17, 2019
McKesson Hitting the Upper Rail of a Downward Sloped Channel with Earnings Two Weeks Out

McKesson Hitting the Upper Rail of a Downward Sloped Channel with Earnings Two Weeks Out

Medical equipment and pharmaceutical supplier McKesson (NYSE: MCK) is set to report earnings on January 31. While investors wait for the earnings results, the stock is facing resistance in the form of the upper rail of a downward sloped trend channel. The channel started back in late April and connects the highs from then, June, October, and November. The lower rail connects the lows from April, July/August, and December.

If the resistance holds and the stock makes another trip down to the lower rail, it would put the stock down below the $100 mark. McKesson hasn’t been under $100 since early 2013, but the trend has been to the downside since the stock hit an all-time high of $236.52 back in May 2015.

The company’s fundamentals are mixed with a decent return on equity, but slow earnings growth, sales growth, and a low profit margin. The company’s ROE is 25.3% and that is the highlight among the fundamental indicators. Earnings have only grown at a rate of 2% per year over the last three years while sales have grown at a rate of 4% during that same timeframe. It isn’t helping earnings that the company sports a profit margin of only 1.7%.

Related Ticker: MCK

Contributor

Harry Richardson — Algorithmic Trader & Strategy Developer Harry is an algorithmic trader specializing in impulse and breakout trading strategies across cryptocurrency and equity markets. With more than 10 years of experience in developing automated trading systems, he focuses on building structured algorithms designed to capture momentum while maintaining strict risk control. His approach combines quantitative analysis, real-market execution, and continuous performance monitoring. Vitalii prioritizes risk management, drawdown control, and strategy stability over short-term optimization, ensuring algorithms are adaptable to changing market conditions. He has developed and tested hundreds of automated strategies, working extensively with live trading environments, forward testing, and portfolio-level algorithm management. His work centers on transforming trading ideas into fully operational, scalable automated systems.


MCK's Stochastic Oscillator stays in oversold zone for 1 day

Be on the lookout for a price bounce soon.

Price Prediction Chart

Technical Analysis (Indicators)

Bullish Trend Analysis

The 50-day moving average for MCK moved above the 200-day moving average on September 03, 2026. This could be a long-term bullish signal for the stock as the stock shifts to an upward trend.

Following a +4.57% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where MCK advanced for three days, in 256 of 385 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 66%.

The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 267 of 360 cases where MCK Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 74%.

Bearish Trend Analysis

The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on September 09, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on MCK as a result. In 42 of 92 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 46%.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence Histogram (MACD) for MCK turned negative on September 09, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to turn lower in the coming weeks. Traders may want to sell the stock or buy put options. Tickeron's A.I.dvisor looked at 52 similar instances when the indicator turned negative. In 24 of the 52 cases the stock turned lower in the days that followed. This puts the odds of success at 46%.

Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where MCK declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 42%.

MCK broke above its upper Bollinger Band on August 25, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.

Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)

The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 11 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is seriously undervalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: P/B Ratio (0.000) is normal, around the industry mean (7.717). P/E Ratio (23.646) is within average values for comparable stocks, (19.412). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (1.663) is also within normal values, averaging (1.318). MCK has a moderately low Dividend Yield (0.004) as compared to the industry average of (0.007). P/S Ratio (0.263) is also within normal values, averaging (4.329).

The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 14 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating low risk on high returns. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 74, placing this stock better than average.

The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 47 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating steady price growth. MCK’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.

The Tickeron Seasonality Score of 50 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is fair valued in the industry. The Tickeron Seasonality score describes the variance of predictable price changes around the same period every calendar year. These changes can be tied to a specific month, quarter, holiday or vacation period, as well as a meteorological or growing season.

The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 64 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to average earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.

The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 100 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating weak sales and an unprofitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.

Notable companies

The most notable companies in this group are McKesson Corp (NYSE:MCK).

Industry description

Healthcare distribution market can be segmented into pharmaceutical product distribution services, medical device distribution services, and biopharmaceutical product distribution services. In addition to serving as intermediaries, many medical distributors also purchase and take legal ownership of pharmaceuticals and manage inventory and credit risk. According to a Deloitte report, pharmaceutical distributors’ core services of efficient product distribution, inventory management, financial risk management, and information-sharing generate $33 billion-$53 billion in value annually to the U.S. health care ecosystem. Some prominent players in the overall medical distribution industry include McKesson Corporation, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc. and Patterson Companies, Inc.

Market Cap

The average market capitalization across the Medical Distributors Industry is 20.87B. The market cap for tickers in the group ranges from 557.05K to 102.78B. MCK holds the highest valuation in this group at 102.78B. The lowest valued company is CNBI at 557.05K.

High and low price notable news

The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the Medical Distributors Industry was -5%. For the same Industry, the average monthly price growth was -13%, and the average quarterly price growth was -32%. YI experienced the highest price growth at 2%, while AHG experienced the biggest fall at -19%.

Volume

The average weekly volume growth across all stocks in the Medical Distributors Industry was 115%. For the same stocks of the Industry, the average monthly volume growth was 36% and the average quarterly volume growth was 199%

Fundamental Analysis Ratings

The average fundamental analysis ratings, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, are as follows

Valuation Rating: 57
P/E Growth Rating: 60
Price Growth Rating: 66
SMR Rating: 88
Profit Risk Rating: 74
Seasonality Score: -3 (-100 ... +100)
View a ticker or compare two or three
MCK
Daily Signal:
Gain/Loss:
Interact to see
Advertisement
A.I.Advisor
published price charts
A.I. Advisor
published General Information

General Information

a distributer of pharmaceuticals and provides healthcare software and health information technology services

Industry MedicalDistributors

Profile
Details
Industry
Medical Distributors
Address
6555 State Highway 161
Phone
+1 972 446-4800
Employees
43000
Web
https://www.mckesson.com
Interact to see
Advertisement
IGV has rallied about 8–9% in the last 6 trading days, while SOXX has dropped about 8%, giving software a +16.6 percentage‑point edge—the largest 6‑day software‑over‑semi outperformance ever.[barchart]​ This comes right after software lagged semis by almost −15 percentage points into late January, the widest gap since 2008, and as hedge‑fund short exposure to U.S. software and services hit a record ~3.8% of market cap.
Crude’s explosive war‑driven spike faded on March 9 because the market suddenly started to price less extreme, shorter‑lived supply risk and more policy intervention, not a multi‑month shortage. WTI, which had briefly traded above 115–120 dollars on Iran‑war headlines and Strait of Hormuz fears, slid back toward the high‑80s as traders digested G7 reserve‑release talk, Trump’s comments about a “brief” war, and the reality that prices had run far ahead of fundamentals.
Shares of ARQ plunged approximately 27.50% in premarket trading on March 10, 2026, from a prior close of $3.20 to roughly $2.32. The primary catalyst was a deeply disappointing Q4 2025 earnings report, which revealed a net loss of $50.0 million for the quarter versus a net loss of $1.3 million in Q4 2024.
RAIL shares fell approximately 15% in premarket trading on March 10, 2026, following a steep after-hours reaction to disappointing Q4 2025 earnings results released after the close on March 9. The primary catalyst was a significant revenue miss: Q4 revenue came in at $125.6 million, well below consensus estimates near $144–$160 million, representing an 8.8% year-over-year decline.
ZVRA shares surged approximately +17.86% on March 10, 2026, driven by a blockbuster Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings report released before the market open. Primary catalyst: Q4 2025 EPS of $0.19 crushed the consensus estimate of $0.05 — a 280% beat — while revenue of $34.1 million exceeded forecasts by 21.57%.
LITE surged +14.73% on Monday, March 9, 2026, closing at $640.69 versus a prior close of $558.44 on March 6. The primary catalyst was the landmark $2 billion strategic investment by NVIDIA announced March 2, with the market continuing to price in its full implications following a brief post-announcement pullback.
Shares of BNTX fell approximately 22% on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, following a dual shock of disappointing full-year guidance and a surprise leadership upheaval. The primary catalyst was BioNTech's Q4 2025 earnings report, which included a 2026 revenue outlook of €2.0–€2.3 billion — well below analyst consensus and signaling continued pressure from declining COVID-19 vaccine demand.
CNC shares fell approximately 10% during Tuesday's session, extending a prolonged selloff in the managed care sector. The primary catalyst is intensifying investor concern over federal Medicaid and ACA funding cuts tied to the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA), which threatens to shrink the government-sponsored insurance pools that Centene depends on for the majority of its revenue.
Technology recently peaked near 35% of the S&P 500 and has slipped over the last year, while Energy plus Materials remain near historically low combined weight at roughly 6%, which suggests the gap is still unusually wide.
Average daily equity purchases by retail investors on S&P 500 down days in 2026 are at the highest level on record, running about 100% above the peak intensity seen during the 2021 meme‑stock boom.
Over the past two weeks, PLTR has climbed from roughly the high‑130s to the mid‑150s, a gain of about 12–14%, with a series of strong up days between March 2 and March 6.
AVAV shares dropped approximately 10% in premarket trading on March 11, 2026, following a disappointing Q3 fiscal 2026 earnings report released after the prior session's close. Q3 revenue of $408.0 million came in far below analyst consensus of approximately $475–$488 million, representing a massive top-line miss.
KOS shares are down approximately 20% in premarket trading on March 11, 2026, having shed roughly 20.31% across the last two sessions (Tuesday close and premarket Wednesday). The primary catalyst is Kosmos Energy's announcement of a massive $185.25 million public equity offering priced at $1.90 per share — a steep discount to recent trading levels.
NBIS shares surged approximately +10% in premarket trading on March 11, 2026, from a prior close of $96.32. The primary catalyst is the imminent addition of Nebius Group to the Bloomberg 500 (B500) Index, effective prior to the open of trading on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
ORCL shares surged approximately +10.49% in Wednesday's premarket session, trading around $165.07 versus Tuesday's closing price of $149.40. The primary catalyst is Oracle's Q3 FY2026 earnings beat, with adjusted EPS of $1.79 vs. the $1.70 consensus estimate, and revenue of $17.2 billion topping the $16.92 billion forecast.
Shares of AngloGold Ashanti plc (AU) are down approximately 5.00% in early trading on March 11, 2026, falling from a prior close of $108.26 to around $102.85. The primary driver is a renewed pullback in gold prices, which has weighed heavily on gold mining equities across the board.
HMY shares are trading down approximately 13% in early session trading on March 11, 2026, following the release of the company's H1 FY26 interim results. Revenue of R44.4 billion (~US$2.6 billion) missed analyst consensus estimates of R47.56 billion, a significant shortfall that spooked investors.
FICO fell over 9% today, extending a multi‑week downtrend that has already knocked the stock more than 7% lower since its last earnings update. The decline comes despite strong recent financial results, including double‑digit revenue growth, expanding margins, and repeated earnings beats.
RERE fell roughly 10% today, giving back a portion of its strong gains over the past year and month, as traders reacted to fresh earnings and guidance. The company delivered robust Q4 2025 results, with revenue growth near 30% year over year and earnings per share ahead of consensus estimates, underscoring continued operational momentum.
Top hedge funds like Millennium, Citadel, and Bridgewater showed limited direct accumulation of penny stocks in Q4 2025 13F filings, but rotations into biotech, energy, and defense sectors highlight indirect interest in low-priced plays under $5. New entries and increased positions focused on volatile sectors like biotech (e.g., ABCL) and energy (e.g., AMPY), with full exits from overvalued names signaling a hunt for undervalued pennies amid market uncertainty.