Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price shot up 1.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $1,083.36 and last traded at $1,080.9240. 2,375,275 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 3,136,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,063.56.

Key Stories Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia partnership — Lilly and Nvidia will fund a San Francisco Bay Area co‑innovation AI lab with up to $1 billion committed over five years to accelerate AI‑driven drug discovery; the deal boosts Lilly’s AI capabilities and signal‑markets view it as a major productivity/innovation catalyst. Nvidia, Eli Lilly to spend $1 billion over five years on joint research lab
• Positive Sentiment: Ventyx acquisition — Markets reacted positively to Lilly’s deal for Ventyx Biosciences (inflammation‑focused assets that could complement Lilly’s GLP‑1 franchise), which investors interpret as strategic bolt‑on M&A that expands weight‑loss program adjacencies and clinical upside. Eli Lilly Stock Broke Out Following Plan To Acquire Ventyx Biosciences
• Positive Sentiment: Manufacturing expansion — Lilly’s large Houston manufacturing project (multi‑billion dollar plant) supports production capacity for growing drug volumes and reduces supply risk, a positive for long‑term revenue visibility. Texas seals Eli Lilly’s plans for $7B manufacturing plant in Houston biotech hub
• Positive Sentiment: Supply reassurance for orforglipron — Lilly said it’s confident in supply ahead of expected U.S. approval for its oral weight‑loss candidate, reducing near‑term execution risk around a potential major launch. Lilly says it’s confident weight-loss pill supply ahead of U.S. approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Aktis/AKTS exposure and other biotech bets — Lilly’s equity and collaboration investments (e.g., Aktis) signal diversified R&D exposure but remain speculative and will only move LLY materially if programs hit milestones.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary & price forecasts — Several outlets reiterated growth narratives and long‑term forecasts (Zacks, Motley Fool, 24/7 Wall St. pieces), supporting investor sentiment but not immediate fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Competition from Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill — The launch of an oral Wegovy competitor increases market competition in the oral weight‑loss category and was earlier cited as the key near‑term headwind that pressured LLY shares. (Market reaction has been mixed as investors weigh competition vs. Lilly’s pipeline and M&A.)

Analyst Ratings Changes

LLY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. CICC Research boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $801.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,163.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. UBS Group began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,250.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $1,200.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $1,169.00.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.6%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,040.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $863.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $1.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.88, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $17.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 109.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,959,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,771,785,000 after buying an additional 551,659 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,726,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,496,364,000 after acquiring an additional 219,590 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 20.9% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 25,088,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,141,787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332,008 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,563,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,112,164,000 after purchasing an additional 574,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 78,621.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,552,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,005,392,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537,661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.