Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 1.5% – Here’s Why

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) traded down 1.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $1,004.14 and last traded at $1,024.1350. 3,292,040 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 2,940,689 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,039.51.

Key Eli Lilly and Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big strategic/AI push: coverage highlights Lilly’s oncology pipeline plus a ~$1B AI partnership with Nvidia to accelerate drug discovery, supporting longer‑term growth expectations. Eli Lilly (LLY) Oncology Pipeline and $1B Nvidia (NVDA) AI Partnership Signal Strong 2026 Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Major gene‑editing deal: Lilly signed a collaboration/licensing pact worth up to $1.12B with Seamless Therapeutics to develop recombinase‑based treatments for hearing loss — a meaningful R&D and pipeline expansion play. Eli Lilly signs up to $1.12 billion deal with private gene-editing firm Seamless
• Positive Sentiment: Strong near‑term earnings backdrop: multiple Zacks pieces note Lilly’s history of earnings surprises and that it appears positioned to beat next quarter’s estimates — supportive for sentiment ahead of the report. Will Lilly (LLY) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply/partner updates: MedPal AI won approval to supply Lilly’s GLP‑1 offering (distribution/operational item) — could modestly help access but isn’t a major demand driver. MedPal AI Wins Direct Eli Lilly Supply Approval to Boost GLP-1 Weight-Loss Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Bull case coverage and investor letters continue to highlight Lilly’s GLP‑1/diabetes leadership and pipeline optionality — supportive for longer‑term holders but already priced into a high valuation. Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): A Bull Case Theory
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive ad war: Reuters data show Novo Nordisk doubled U.S. ad spend on Wegovy/Ozempic vs. Lilly’s GLP‑1 ads — higher rival marketing intensity risks market‑share pressure and margin impact. Exclusive: Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic US advertising spend doubles rival Eli Lilly, data shows
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. pricing risk: Medicare has named Lilly drugs (including Verzenio) for its next round of price negotiations — a potential headwind to pricing and future revenue for affected medicines. US Medicare names Eli Lilly, Pfizer and AbbVie drugs for next Medicare price talks
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/backlash risk: the American Hospital Association is urging the administration to block Lilly’s 340B claims‑data submission policy, signaling potential legal/regulatory friction and reputational risk. AHA urges HRSA to stop Eli Lilly’s 340B claims-data submission policy from going into effect
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction noise: some outlets note the stock fell even after the $1.1B gene‑editing deal — suggesting profit‑taking and sensitivity to near‑term headlines despite positive strategic moves. Eli Lilly Stock Drops even after Signing Major $1.1 Billion Gene-Editing Partnership

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LLY shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Zacks Research raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. CICC Research lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $801.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,286.00 to $1,268.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,173.91.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,058.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $885.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $968.20 billion, a PE ratio of 50.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.60. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 109.52% and a net margin of 30.99%.The firm had revenue of $17.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Cape ANN Savings Bank increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Cape ANN Savings Bank now owns 669 shares of the company’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Diversified Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 5,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,031,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. REDW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $270,000. Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, Wealth Science Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth $2,516,000. 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.