Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Falls 3.5% – Should You Sell?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) dropped 3.5% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $1,364.73 and last traded at $1,368.8480. 4,754,317 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 61% from the average daily volume of 2,955,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,417.99.

Eli Lilly and Company News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly and Hims & Hers agreed to offer FDA-approved Zepbound and Foundayo through Hims & Hers’ telehealth platform. Eligible patients with a prescription can access Lilly’s self-pay prices—reportedly starting at $149—without leaving the platform. The deal could widen patient access and Lilly’s reach in the competitive obesity-treatment market. Lilly and Hims & Hers expand access to FDA-approved Lilly medicines
• Positive Sentiment: New Phase 3 results for investigational retatrutide showed substantial reductions in weight and knee pain among adults with obesity and knee osteoarthritis. Lilly also reported positive Phase 3b results for combining Taltz and Zepbound in people with psoriatic arthritis and obesity, supporting the potential of its medicines in additional patient groups. Lilly to showcase new retatrutide, Taltz and Zepbound data
• Negative Sentiment: Price competition across the GLP-1 market remains a risk to Lilly’s growth and drug margins, as branded treatments compete with lower-priced options and providers seek self-pay patients. Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 franchise faces growing price competition

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LLY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,425.00 to $1,625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,400.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,600.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,612.00 target price (up from $1,376.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,273.00 to $1,284.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,404.14.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,215.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,101.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 44.54, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $7.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.71 by $1.77. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 86.76% and a net margin of 31.90%. The firm had revenue of $24.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.70 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is presently 22.46%.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total value of $7,638,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,628,139.70. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total transaction of $2,370,020.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,808,325.26. This represents a 56.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 $17,020,770 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 60.0% in the first quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 40 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 357.1% during the 3rd quarter. Torren Management LLC now owns 32 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter worth approximately $64,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for people and animals. Its work spans areas including diabetes and obesity, cancer, immunology, neuroscience and pain management.

The company’s medicines include treatments for diabetes and obesity, such as Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as products for cancer and other conditions. Lilly also conducts research into new medicines and invests in the development of treatments across its therapeutic areas.

Founded in Indianapolis in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, the company is headquartered in the city and serves patients in markets around the world.