Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-one analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, twenty-four have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,283.6429.

LLY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,119.00 to $1,232.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,283.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,230.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,281.00 to $1,370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $1,122.32 on Thursday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $623.78 and a fifty-two week high of $1,249.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,153.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,044.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 24.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,965,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,087,193,000 after buying an additional 1,006,885 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,361,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,002,744,000 after buying an additional 635,358 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,593,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,757,510,000 after buying an additional 407,166 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,031,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,154,619,000 after acquiring an additional 61,851 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,910,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,024,022,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432,069 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly plans to provide limited early access to experimental obesity drug retatrutide before potential U.S. FDA approval. The next-generation therapy could strengthen Lilly’s leadership in the rapidly expanding obesity market, although early access does not guarantee regulatory approval. Eli Lilly to offer early access to next-gen obesity drug to some patients
• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to olomorasib for previously treated patients with advanced pancreatic cancer carrying KRAS G12C mutations. The designation may accelerate development and regulatory review of Lilly’s investigational cancer treatment, expanding its pipeline beyond diabetes and obesity. Lilly’s olomorasib receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention remains focused on strong demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound, which are expected to drive second-quarter revenue and earnings growth. Lilly’s recent results showed rapid year-over-year expansion, while several analysts maintain price targets above current trading levels. Will Mounjaro and Zepbound Drive Lilly’s Q2 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: LLY is approaching a major earnings catalyst. Market commentary points to potential upside if sales exceed expectations but also warns that the stock could experience a large move in either direction because strong growth expectations are already embedded in its valuation. Eli Lilly Could Swing Over $76 Billion in Value After Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation analyses suggest the stock may be priced above estimates of its cash-flow-based intrinsic value after rising more than 300% over five years. This raises the bar for earnings, guidance and future obesity-drug growth. Eli Lilly Stock Looks Below Fair Value on Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Novo Nordisk is attempting to regain momentum in the obesity-drug race, potentially increasing pricing and market-share pressure on Lilly. Separately, an executive’s recent open-market sale provides a modest negative sentiment signal, though it does not establish a change in company fundamentals. Obesity battle heats up as Novo competes with Lilly

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.