Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,292.1786.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LLY shares. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,350.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Truist Financial raised 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 report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,300.00 to $1,385.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total transaction of $7,638,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,628,139.70. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,190.00, for a total value of $5,950,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,875 shares in the company, valued at $14,131,250. This represents a 29.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold 13,500 shares of company stock worth $15,958,170 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LLY. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 120,133.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,460,379,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,751,622,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459,164,568 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,976,634,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,522,666,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 46,191.3% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 4,047,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,047,245,000 after acquiring an additional 4,038,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at $4,667,180,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition expands immunology pipeline: Lilly agreed to acquire privately held Merida Biosciences for up to $2.875 billion in cash. Merida’s antibody-engineering platform is intended to selectively remove disease-causing antibodies while preserving normal immune function, potentially strengthening Lilly’s treatments for autoimmune and allergic diseases. Its lead candidate, MER511, has shown robust reductions in thyroid-stimulating antibodies in Phase 1 testing. The deal adds longer-term pipeline potential, though it also represents a sizable cash investment. Lilly to acquire Merida Biosciences to advance treatments for serious autoimmune and allergic diseases
• Positive Sentiment: Durable results for Taltz and Zepbound combination: New 52-week Phase 3b data showed that combining Taltz with Zepbound maintained or further improved psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis outcomes versus Taltz alone. The combination also sustained improvements in weight-related and inflammatory measures, supporting Lilly’s strategy of addressing overlapping metabolic and immune-mediated conditions. New Phase 3b data on Lilly’s Taltz and Zepbound used together
• Neutral Sentiment: GLP-1 competition is intensifying: Commentary highlighted that Lilly derives nearly two-thirds of its sales from GLP-1 medicines, leaving the company exposed to competitors such as Amylyx and Novo Nordisk. Potentially effective rival drugs and more convenient oral treatments could pressure future market share, pricing, or growth, although Lilly remains a leading player. Should Eli Lilly Investors Be Worried About a Threat From Amylyx?

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:LLY opened at $1,168.98 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,189.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,065.44. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $712.05 and a fifty-two week high of $1,292.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.51.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.40 by $1.98. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 33.53% and a return on equity of 97.83%. The company had revenue of $22.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.31 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 36.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.22%.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

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.