Morgan Stanley Boosts Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Price Target to $26.00

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $23.00 to $26.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 0.40% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Elanco Animal Health from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Elanco Animal Health from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Elanco Animal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Elanco Animal Health from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elanco Animal Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.73.

Elanco Animal Health Stock Up 1.6%

ELAN traded up $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,469,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,302,318. The company has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.78, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.68. Elanco Animal Health has a 12 month low of $13.39 and a 12 month high of $27.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.93.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. Elanco Animal Health had a negative net margin of 4.95% and a positive return on equity of 7.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Elanco Animal Health has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.285 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.030-1.090 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Elanco Animal Health will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Elanco Animal Health

In related news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons acquired 4,971 shares of Elanco Animal Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.09 per share, with a total value of $99,867.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,971 shares in the company, valued at $3,454,897.39. This represents a 2.98% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rajeev A. Modi bought 4,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.35 per share, for a total transaction of $99,938.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 160,812 shares in the company, valued at $3,272,524.20. This trade represents a 3.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the period. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Elanco Animal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Elanco Animal Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. 97.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Elanco Animal Health

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.