McKesson stock briefly broke out Monday after the drug distributor raised its dividend and announced a new deal for a cancer-related drug.
The company raised its quarterly dividend by 15% to 54 cents per share. That's up from 47 cents a share in the previous quarter. The dividend will be payable on Oct. 3 to shareholders of record on Sept. 1.
Further, Biologics by McKesson inked a deal with privately held TerSera Therapeutics to be an exclusive specialty pharmacy provider for Xermelo. Xermelo treats a type of diarrhea that follows some cancer treatments.
"Patients with carcinoid syndrome diarrhea can experience urgent, loose and watery stools multiple times a day which has a marked effect on quality of life," said Ela Lourido, vice president of biopharma services at Biologics.
On today's stock market, McKesson stock jumped 1.7% to 336.20.
McKesson Stock Briefly Breaks Out
The news helped McKesson stock briefly break out of a flat base with a buy point at 340.04, according to MarketSmith.com. McKesson shares have mostly trended sideways since early May, but have stayed well above their 50-day moving average since late June.
Shares of the three major drug distributors have gained this year. But McKesson is leading the charge. McKesson stock has surged 35% vs. 11% and 8% increases for Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, respectively.
The industry group, itself, is ranked seventh out of 197 groups Investor's Business Daily tracks. That puts it in the leading 4% of all industry groups. McKesson stock is also outperforming its group. On a year-to-date basis, the group has risen more than 18%.
In fact, McKesson ranks first in the group with a Composite Rating of 97 out of a best-possible 99. This puts shares in the top 3% of all stocks — regardless industry group — in terms of fundamental and technical performance, according to IBD Digital. McKesson stock has a strong Relative Strength Rating of 98. This puts its shares' 12-month performance in the top 2% of all stocks.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
