Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Here’s Why

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $1,449.64 and last traded at $1,444.05. Approximately 1,861,846 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 2,956,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,427.28.

Key Stories Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

Investors following LLY have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: China approved Lilly’s oral weight-loss drug orforglipron, giving the company the first GLP-1 obesity pill approved in the country. The decision opens a potential opportunity in a large market and could strengthen Lilly’s position against competitors, though commercial uptake and competition remain important uncertainties. Reuters article: China approves Eli Lilly’s weight loss pill orforglipron
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly broke ground on a $3.5 billion Pennsylvania plant intended to expand production of next-generation obesity medicines, including investigational retatrutide. The facility is part of a broader U.S. manufacturing expansion, but is expected to begin operations in 2031, so the added capacity is a longer-term catalyst. Lilly announcement on Pennsylvania manufacturing site
• Neutral Sentiment: Lilly’s early-stage ALS drug study is advancing, but the report offers no clinical results yet, leaving the potential impact on the company’s pipeline uncertain. Eli Lilly advances early ALS drug study

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. Berenberg Bank raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,400.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. HSBC upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “reduce” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,413.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,450.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,600.00 to $1,650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,416.64.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,236.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,108.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 46.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $7.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $24.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 22.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,628,139.70. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,402.52, for a total transaction of $7,012,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,802,225.24. This trade represents a 54.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LLY. TD Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. FCA Corp TX boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Integrity Financial Corp WA increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.