Analyst Update: McKesson, Callon Petroleum, and Bitauto

Analysts are weighing in on pharmaceutical distribution stock McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), oil stock Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE:CPE), and Beijing-based online car resource Bitauto Hldg Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:BITA). Here's a quick roundup of today's brokerage notes on MCK, CPE, and BITA.

• MCK is up 3.5% at $171.67, after the company announced a new collaboration to source generic pharmaceuticals with blue chip Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT). Evercore ISI analyst Ross Muken in return said the deal "ensures the [company's] long-term competitive position." The stock is still down 13% in 2016, but analysts remain mostly upbeat. In fact, nine of 13 recommend buying McKesson Corporation, while not one recommends selling it. 
  
  
• CPE is also on the rise today, following an upgrade to "focus stock" from"sector outperform" at Scotia Howard Weil, which also raised is price target to $16 from $15. This has the stock up 5.2% at $11.38 -- bringing its 12-month lead to almost 37% -- after touching a new annual high of $11.60. While every single covering analyst recommends buying Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE:CPE), the sentiment picture shakes out quite differently in the equity's options pits. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), nearly five puts have been purchased to open for every call over the past two weeks. 
  
  
• Morgan Stanley cut BITA to "underweight" from "equal weight," sending the stock down 7.3% to $19.88. The shares have been pressured lower in recent weeks by their declining 200-day moving average -- a trendline the security has topped on a closing basis only once over the past 14 months -- and short-term speculators have in turn picked up puts over calls. Specifically, Bitauto Hldg Ltd's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.35 tops 88% of all comparable readings from the past year. 

For other stocks in analysts' crosshairs, read Analyst Upgrades: J C Penney Company Inc, Target Corporation, and Freeport-McMoRan Inc and Analyst Downgrades: Twitter Inc, Square Inc, and Bank of America Corp.