Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Jumps 2.8% – Still a Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares were up 2.8% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $1,197.79 and last traded at $1,183.2170. 2,404,559 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 3,013,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,150.99.

Eli Lilly and Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: FDA approves once-weekly insulin: The FDA approved Onswik (insulin efsitora alfa) for adults with type 2 diabetes. The treatment offers an alternative to daily basal-insulin injections and could improve convenience and adherence. Approval was supported by Lilly’s Phase 3 QWINT program, which involved more than 3,400 patients. US FDA approves Lilly’s once-weekly insulin injection for type 2 diabetes
• Positive Sentiment: New China drug-discovery partnership: Lilly agreed to collaborate with InnoCare Pharma on as many as five undisclosed drug targets. The agreement includes $100 million upfront and could generate up to approximately $3.35 billion in payments, expanding Lilly’s early-stage oncology and autoimmune pipeline. China’s InnoCare, Eli Lilly sign collaboration deal worth up to $3.35 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Obesity franchise momentum: Lilly’s CEO said Foundayo is capturing about one-third of new oral GLP-1 prescriptions and approximately 70% of new senior patients following expanded Medicare coverage. Lilly also broke ground on a planned $6.5 billion Houston manufacturing facility to support future demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term bullish commentary: Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone said LLY could reach $2,000 within three to four years. The comment may reinforce investor optimism but is not company guidance or an analyst estimate. Lilly is already trading near its 12-month high and at a premium valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and trading risks: Viking Therapeutics reported promising maintenance data for its obesity drug, suggesting less-frequent dosing could challenge Lilly’s weekly injectable products over time. Separately, recent disclosures show several Lilly executives sold shares, although insider selling was not linked to a change in the company’s outlook.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LLY shares. Guggenheim increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,273.00 to $1,284.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,280.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,419.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,370.00 to $1,376.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,367.00 to $1,371.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,308.39.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,176.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,080.70.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.40 by $1.98. The firm had revenue of $22.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 33.53% and a return on equity of 97.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.31 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 36.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,190.00, for a total transaction of $5,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,131,250. The trade was a 29.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total value of $2,370,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,808,325.26. The trade was a 56.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,500 shares of company stock worth $15,958,170. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrity Financial Corp WA increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% during the second quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.0% during the second quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Aspiring Ventures LLC grew its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aspiring Ventures LLC now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. Wealthspan Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% in the second quarter. Wealthspan Partners LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navigoe LLC grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Navigoe LLC now owns 113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.