Buy McKesson 'Right Here, Right Now,' Baird Says

"McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is the distributor to own intermediate term," Baird analyst Eric Coldwell said in a note Wednesday morning.

The comment and note followed news on Tuesday that McKesson has begun "the process of exiting Technology Solutions via a merger with Change Healthcare and subsequent IPO," as Coldwell put it. Although he said the process will be complex and take time, he still believes it will create a "better long-term outcome vs. several years of portfolio pruning."

Coldwell maintained an Outperform rating and $220 price target on shares of McKesson, and concluded the company "has now begun the healing process and should be bought right here, right now."

As McKesson shares have traded up more than 4 percent to around $184 on the heels of the Change Healthcare news, strategic alternatives exploration for Enterprise Information Systems and raised guidance, Coldwell's price target represented potential upside of about 20 percent.