Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Berenberg Bank

Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

LLY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 23rd. Leerink Partners upped 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 report on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,304.86.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.1%

LLY stock opened at $1,136.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $712.05 and a fifty-two week high of $1,292.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,180.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,074.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.40 by $1.98. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 97.83% and a net margin of 33.53%.The company had revenue of $22.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.31 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 36.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 23.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total transaction of $2,370,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,808,325.26. This trade represents a 56.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total value of $7,638,150.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,147 shares in the company, valued at $63,628,139.70. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,500 shares of company stock worth $15,958,170. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 67,540,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,009,981,000 after buying an additional 1,046,558 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $16,154,619,000 after acquiring an additional 61,851 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth $12,976,634,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,522,666,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,209,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,647,153,000 after acquiring an additional 137,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Eli Lilly and Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Berenberg upgraded Eli Lilly to Buy and set a $1,400 price target, implying roughly 25% upside. Analyst Kerry Holford cited the company’s potential to extend its lead in the rapidly expanding obesity-drug market and deliver upside to 2026 guidance. Berenberg bullish on Eli Lilly, sees nearly 25% upside
• Positive Sentiment: Foundayo is gaining traction quickly in the U.S. oral weight-loss market. Lilly said the newly launched medicine has captured more than 30% of new patients starting oral weight-loss treatments, narrowing Novo’s early lead with its Wegovy pill. The market-share progress could strengthen expectations for Foundayo’s commercial contribution. Lilly says Foundayo has captured over 30% of new U.S. patients
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming clinical data could support Lilly’s pipeline valuation. At the EASD 2026 meeting, Lilly plans to present data on Foundayo, investigational retatrutide and eloraTZP. Retatrutide’s reported weight-loss and A1C improvements, along with Foundayo diabetes data, reinforce the company’s prospects beyond Mounjaro and Zepbound. Lilly to present new cardiometabolic data at EASD 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly is expanding its research platform through a QurCan collaboration. The agreement includes a strategic investment and access to QurCan’s genetic-medicine delivery technology, potentially broadening Lilly’s neuroscience and nucleic-acid therapy pipeline. QurCan and Lilly research collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: The main investment risk is execution: Lilly’s premium valuation and future growth expectations depend heavily on continued clinical success, manufacturing expansion and sustained demand for obesity treatments.
• Negative Sentiment: Competition from Novo remains intense, while reports of unapproved or bootleg versions of Lilly’s experimental medicines highlight regulatory and reputational risks. These issues could complicate market access and commercialization.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of medical conditions. Its portfolio includes treatments for diabetes and obesity, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

The company’s products include Mounjaro and Trulicity for diabetes, Zepbound for chronic weight management, and insulin products such as Humalog. Lilly also markets Verzenio for certain breast cancers and Kisunla for the treatment of early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.