Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading 2.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares traded up 2.5% on Friday . The company traded as high as $848.13 and last traded at $840.46. 5,079,870 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 4,129,429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $819.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,010.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,028.00 to $1,023.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $938.94.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $734.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $765.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $795.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.93, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.47.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 25.91% and a return on equity of 92.72%. The business’s revenue was up 37.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.92 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 21.750-23.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel Skovronsky acquired 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $634.40 per share, with a total value of $634,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,331,504. This trade represents a 0.73% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jamere Jackson acquired 200 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $639.56 per share, for a total transaction of $127,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $6,013,143.12. This trade represents a 2.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 4,514 shares of company stock worth $2,894,841. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WestEnd Advisors LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 31 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.