Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.000-1.060 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 1.030. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.0 billion-$5.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.9 billion. Elanco Animal Health also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.330-0.36 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ELAN shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Elanco Animal Health from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Elanco Animal Health from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Argus raised shares of Elanco Animal Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler upgraded Elanco Animal Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Elanco Animal Health from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Elanco Animal Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.22.

Elanco Animal Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELAN opened at $27.30 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 453.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Elanco Animal Health has a 12 month low of $8.02 and a 12 month high of $26.87.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Elanco Animal Health had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 0.78%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. Elanco Animal Health has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.330-0.36 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.060 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Elanco Animal Health will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Elanco Animal Health

In related news, CFO Robert M. Vanhimbergen bought 6,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.64 per share, with a total value of $150,398.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 124,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,688,402.12. This trade represents a 5.93% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius acquired 10,000 shares of Elanco Animal Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.30 per share, with a total value of $213,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 131,773 shares in the company, valued at $2,806,764.90. This represents a 8.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 43,450 shares of company stock valued at $937,883 in the last ninety days. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Elanco Animal Health News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Elanco Animal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and stronger 2026 targets — Elanco reported Q4 revenue of $1.144B (+12% yr/yr) and adjusted EPS of $0.13, beating estimates; it set FY2026 revenue guidance of $4.95–5.02B, raised its 2026 innovation revenue target to $1.15B, and guided adjusted EPS $1.00–1.06 while targeting lower net leverage. Elanco Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Leerink Partners raised its price target on ELAN to $30 and kept an outperform rating, signaling institutional confidence in the outlook and providing upside to the share valuation. Leerink raises price target to $30 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Shares hit recent highs — Coverage noted ELAN reached a 52?week high after the Q4 print and 2026 outlook, reflecting positive market reaction to growth/guidance beats. Elanco hits 52-week high after Q4 results (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO media appearance — CEO Jeff Simmons spoke one?on?one with Jim Cramer (visibility event) to discuss the quarter, strategy and the “Big 6” product rollouts — useful for investor messaging but not a direct financial driver. Elanco CEO Jeff Simmons on Jim Cramer (CNBC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials available — The earnings slide deck and call transcript provide granular metrics (adjusted EBITDA margin, innovation revenue breakdown, product momentum) for investors doing deeper fundamental work. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure flagged — Several outlets highlighted concerns around margins and short?term profitability (and some noted the stock initially slipped on those worries), pointing to investor focus on whether margin recovery will match top?line gains. Elanco beats estimates but shares edge down on margin concerns (Investing.com)

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELAN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Elanco Animal Health in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,065,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Elanco Animal Health by 104.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,787,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,445,872 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 35.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,121 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 4.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,793,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,830,000 after acquiring an additional 76,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 2,006.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 310,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,432,000 after acquiring an additional 295,651 shares during the last quarter. 97.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.