Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.000-1.060 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.030. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.0 billion-$5.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.9 billion. Elanco Animal Health also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.330-0.36 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ELAN. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler raised Elanco Animal Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Elanco Animal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Elanco Animal Health from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Elanco Animal Health from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.89.

Elanco Animal Health Price Performance

NYSE ELAN opened at $24.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 412.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.55. Elanco Animal Health has a fifty-two week low of $8.02 and a fifty-two week high of $26.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Elanco Animal Health had a net margin of 0.78% and a return on equity of 7.41%. Elanco Animal Health has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.330-0.36 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.060 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Elanco Animal Health will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Elanco Animal Health

In related news, insider Rajeev A. Modi acquired 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.33 per share, with a total value of $95,985.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 123,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,339.06. This represents a 3.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons bought 22,000 shares of Elanco Animal Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $478,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 167,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,250. This trade represents a 15.17% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 43,450 shares of company stock valued at $937,883 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Elanco Animal Health News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Elanco Animal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations: adjusted EPS of $0.13 beat consensus $0.11 and revenue of $1.14B topped estimates of $1.09B — signs of operational momentum. View Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: FY‑2026 targets show modest upside vs. street: revenue guidance $4.95B–$5.02B and adjusted EPS $1.00–$1.06 (midpoint roughly in line with consensus), with adjusted EBITDA growth and a raised innovation revenue target of $1.15B — suggests continued product execution and margin improvement. Elanco Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 guidance of $0.330–$0.36 EPS is essentially in line with the $0.35 consensus but leaves little upside (lower bound below consensus) — near‑term results could be choppy. Guidance Details
• Neutral Sentiment: Street reception includes analyst support (e.g., BofA raised its price target to $28), which may limit downside if execution holds. Analyst Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary flags strategic bets (dermatology expansion) that could drive growth but add execution risk; watch pipeline updates and launch cadence. Market Commentary
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP results still show reported net losses (Q4 reported net loss $276M; full‑year net loss $232M), and the company continues to rely on adjusted metrics — investors may penalize the stock if GAAP improvement lags. GAAP vs Adjusted Details
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and leverage remain risk factors: the stock trades at a high P/E on adjusted earnings and net leverage (~3.6x) is elevated despite a guidance target to reduce it — leaves sensitivity to execution and interest‑rate/credit sentiment. No external link

Institutional Trading of Elanco Animal Health

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 72,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 133.7% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 52,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. 97.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elanco Animal Health Company Profile

Elanco Animal Health Inc is a global leader in animal health dedicated to improving food and companion animal well-being. The company develops, manufactures and markets a range of products, including parasiticides, vaccines, antibiotics and feed additives designed to prevent and treat disease in livestock and pets. Elanco’s portfolio spans both food-producing animals—such as cattle, swine, poultry and aquaculture—and companion animals, with offerings that support parasite control, pain management and infectious disease prevention.

Originally founded as the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company in the mid-20th century, Elanco was spun off into an independent publicly traded company in 2018.