Decoding McKesson's Options Activity: What's the Big Picture?

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on McKesson MCK.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with MCK, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 12 uncommon options trades for McKesson.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 25% bullish and 58%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 9 are puts, for a total amount of $872,070, and 3 are calls, for a total amount of $329,936.

Projected Price Targets

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $300.0 to $570.0 for McKesson over the recent three months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

Assessing the volume and open interest is a strategic step in options trading. These metrics shed light on the liquidity and investor interest in McKesson's options at specified strike prices. The forthcoming data visualizes the fluctuation in volume and open interest for both calls and puts, linked to McKesson's substantial trades, within a strike price spectrum from $300.0 to $570.0 over the preceding 30 days.

McKesson Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About McKesson

McKesson Corp is one of three leading pharmaceutical wholesalers in the us engaged in sourcing and distributing branded, generic, and specialty pharmaceutical products to pharmacies (retail chains, independent, and mail order), hospitals networks, and healthcare providers. Along with Cencora and Cardinal Health, the three account for over 90% of the us pharmaceutical wholesale industry. Outside the us market, McKesson engages in pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution in Canada. Additionally, the company supplies medical-surgical products and equipment to healthcare facilities and provides a variety of technology solutions for pharmacies.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with McKesson, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Present Market Standing of McKesson

• With a volume of 805,632, the price of MCK is down -1.97% at $560.0.
• RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching oversold.
• Next earnings are expected to be released in 55 days.

What The Experts Say On McKesson

4 market experts have recently issued ratings for this stock, with a consensus target price of $644.5.

• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Evercore ISI Group continues to hold a Outperform rating for McKesson, targeting a price of $630.
• An analyst from Barclays persists with their Overweight rating on McKesson, maintaining a target price of $616.
• An analyst from JP Morgan persists with their Overweight rating on McKesson, maintaining a target price of $661.
• An analyst from Baird persists with their Outperform rating on McKesson, maintaining a target price of $671.

Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.

If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for McKesson, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.