Credit Suisse analyst Erin Wilson Wright reinstated coverage of McKesson with a Neutral rating and $143 price target. The analyst says her incrementally positive bias stems from evidence of stabilizing trends across the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain, where she sees relief from easing generic deflation as well as enhanced visibility across branded price inflation and rebate paradigms. That said, with its shares up 26% from a low in March, Wright sees limited room for upside, acknowledging drug pricing scrutiny remains an overhang into an election cycle, along with other potential headwinds such as opioid litigation.

Evercore ISI says that while neither OptumRx nor Cardinal Health (CAH) would confirm the winner of the contract, McKesson (MCK) confirmed it had won the contract beginning in July. Cardinal this morning announced that its pharmaceutical distribution contracts with OptumRx, which represented 16% of fiscal 2023 revenue, is expiring at end of June and will not be renewed. Evercore estimates the win would represent a 50c-65c earnings per share benefit to McKesson on a full-year basis or likely half of that given the contract does not start until July. The firm does not see Cardinal's announcement as "heralding a broadly more competitive period for the distributors, but rather a one-off contract shift given what was likely an off-market contract."