Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 7.8% – Time to Sell?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price dropped 7.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $1,005.83 and last traded at $1,020.3930. Approximately 7,664,953 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 124% from the average daily volume of 3,419,986 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,107.12.

Key Stories Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Eli Lilly and Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and stunning 2026 guidance — Lilly reported strong Q4 revenue and EPS and issued 2026 guidance well above Street expectations, which sparked the initial rally as investors priced in sustained GLP‑1 growth and margin leverage. Eli Lilly Booms, Then Busts: Stellar Guidance vs Hims Undercut
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raising price targets — Multiple banks (JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Cantor Fitzgerald) lifted LLY price targets and kept overweight/positive views after the results, supporting upside expectations. Price Target Raised to $1,300.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Target Raised to $1,313.00 at Morgan Stanley Price Target Raised to $1,205.00 at Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Manufacturing and capacity expansion — Lilly is expanding GLP‑1 capacity and building greenfield sites to meet volume demand, which investors view as a durable competitive advantage versus peers constrained by supply. Eli Lilly Expands GLP-1 Capacity While Building Beyond Obesity And Diabetes
• Neutral Sentiment: Obesity market size and longer‑term thesis — Coverage highlights a very large addressable market (approaching ~$100B for obesity drugs), reinforcing the long‑term growth story even as short‑term skirmishes play out. Eli Lilly vs Novo Nordisk: The 1 Figure Investors Shouldn’t Ignore
• Neutral Sentiment: Fund/score coverage — Research pieces (Zacks, institutional letters) reinforce Lilly’s growth ranking and investor interest, but are confirmatory rather than catalytic. Eli Lilly (LLY) is a Top-Ranked Growth Stock: Should You Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pricing pressure from compounded copies — Hims & Hers launching low‑cost compounded semaglutide pills ($49 introductory) triggered a selloff as investors feared erosion of pricing/patient share for branded oral options. This remains the main short‑term risk to LLY’s oral launch economics. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly fall after Hims & Hers announce $49 copy of Wegovy pill
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal noise — Separately, securities‑law firms have flagged investigations into certain transactions and board conduct; these are reputational/legal items to monitor but not yet material to the core GLP‑1 thesis. Investor Alert: Scott+Scott Investigates Directors and Officers

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital set a $950.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,200.00 to $1,280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Daiwa Securities Group set a $1,230.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $1,260.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,203.75.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,052.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $898.21. The firm has a market cap of $999.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.39.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $7.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.48 by $0.06. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 31.66% and a return on equity of 112.50%. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 42.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 33.500-35.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 29.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 58,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,662,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 34,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,673,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.