Longbow Finance SA Cuts Stake in Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Longbow Finance SA reduced its position in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,316 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,637 shares during the quarter. Longbow Finance SA’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $10,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 78,621.2% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter worth approximately $8,827,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,407,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,680,004,000 after buying an additional 1,183,038 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,766,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,715,913,000 after acquiring an additional 564,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 87.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,152,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,238,000 after acquiring an additional 536,679 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Eli Lilly and Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Robust fundamentals and guidance — Lilly reported a strong Q4 beat and raised FY2026 outlook, underscoring surging GLP‑1/weight‑loss revenue and underpinning investor optimism. How to Play Eli Lilly Stock Following a Robust Q4 Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Pre‑launch inventory build — Lilly filed that it has about $1.5 billion of pre‑launch inventory for its experimental oral weight‑loss pill, signaling management confidence in commercialization and readiness to capture market share if approved. Eli Lilly builds $1.5 billion stockpile of weight-loss pill ahead of FDA decision
• Positive Sentiment: M&A to expand pipeline — Lilly agreed to acquire Orna Therapeutics for up to $2.4B, adding an RNA platform that diversifies growth beyond GLP‑1s and supports longer‑term R&D optionality. Eli Lilly to acquire ‘world’s most innovative biotech startup’ for up to $2.4B
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades & institutional buying — recent upgrades (Freedom Capital to strong‑buy) and a stake increase by Fisher Asset Management reinforce buy‑side conviction. Zacks / analyst coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry tailwinds from AI and biotech momentum — broader analyst pieces highlight AI drug‑discovery and biotech sector strength that could benefit Lilly longer term, but these are thematic rather than company‑specific catalysts. 2 Biotech Stocks to Buy as AI Drug Discovery Lifts Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and price forecasts — multiple outlets publish bullish multi‑year forecasts and “reasons to buy” writeups; useful for sentiment but speculative for near‑term price moves. Stock Price Prediction and Forecast 2026-2030
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory binary risk — the April FDA decision on the oral weight‑loss pill is binary and could trigger significant volatility; the large pre‑launch build increases both upside on approval and downside on rejection or delays. Eli Lilly builds $1.5 billion stockpile of weight-loss pill ahead of FDA decision
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive dynamics — Novo Nordisk remains a dominant competitor in obesity drugs; market‑share battles, pricing pressure or faster rival launches could blunt Lilly’s growth trajectory. Eli Lilly vs Novo Nordisk in the Weight Loss Drug Market

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LLY shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,163.00 to $1,161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, CICC Research raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $801.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,217.71.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

LLY opened at $1,038.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $981.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.25, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.39. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $623.78 and a 52-week high of $1,133.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,051.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $904.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $7.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.48 by $0.06. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 112.50% and a net margin of 31.66%.The company had revenue of $19.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 33.500-35.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 26.14%.

Eli Lilly and 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.