Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares traded up 1.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1,159.75 and last traded at $1,152.13. Approximately 1,880,384 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 3,014,791 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,137.82.

Key Eli Lilly and Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Berenberg upgraded LLY to Buy and raised its price target to $1,400 from $1,220. The firm cited Lilly’s strong returns on research investment and significant growth opportunities in the obesity-treatment market, implying roughly 20% upside from recent levels. Eli Lilly Gets a Big Price Target Boost
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly’s TuneLab AI drug-discovery ecosystem is expanding. Agreements with Twist Bioscience and Ginkgo Bioworks will provide antibody and laboratory data to train Lilly’s AI/ML models, potentially improving drug-development productivity and strengthening its research pipeline. Twist Bioscience Lilly AI Drug Discovery Tie-Up
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly signed a genetic-medicine agreement with QurCan under which QurCan will optimize genetic therapeutics while Lilly oversees further research and commercialization, adding another potential source of pipeline growth. Eli Lilly and QurCan Sign Genetic Medicine Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Growth prospects remain centered on GLP-1 drugs, the Foundayo launch and retatrutide. Commentary suggests Lilly could capture additional demand as competition with Novo Nordisk expands the overall weight-loss treatment market. This Trend Is Excellent News for Eli Lilly
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to view LLY as a high-quality, relatively resilient growth stock, but its premium valuation means substantial future success may already be reflected in the share price. Buy-and-Hold Stocks Built to Weather a Volatile Market
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and rising competition are limiting enthusiasm. LLY has recently underperformed despite strong long-term gains, prompting debate over whether investors should buy the dip or remain cautious as rivals compete aggressively in GLP-1 treatments. LLY Stock Down Around 7% in a Month
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Lilly and Novo Nordisk paid more than 270,000 doctors to promote weight-loss drugs could create scrutiny around marketing practices and add regulatory or reputational risk. Lilly and Novo Nordisk Doctor Payments

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $1,400.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,251.00 to $1,334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,350.00 to $1,410.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,283.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,500.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,304.86.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,178.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,075.55.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.40 by $1.98. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 97.83% and a net margin of 33.53%.The business had revenue of $22.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.31 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 36.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is currently 23.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, 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 transaction of $5,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,131,250. This trade represents a 29.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Donald Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total transaction of $2,370,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,808,325.26. This represents a 56.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 13,500 shares of company stock worth $15,958,170 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter valued at $2,527,000. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% in the second quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 1,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter worth $3,159,000. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the second quarter. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,971,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 499.5% during the 2nd quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC now owns 1,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of medical conditions. Its portfolio includes treatments for diabetes and obesity, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

The company’s products include Mounjaro and Trulicity for diabetes, Zepbound for chronic weight management, and insulin products such as Humalog. Lilly also markets Verzenio for certain breast cancers and Kisunla for the treatment of early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.