Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Gets Price Target Increase from Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Eli Lilly’s price target from $1,430 to $1,596 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 11.9% upside from the cited share price.
• Lilly reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $7.48 exceeding the $5.68 consensus estimate and revenue of $24.4 billion rising 38.6% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with the stock holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $1,380.39, although insider selling and pricing pressures remain risks.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $1,430.00 to $1,596.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential upside of 11.91% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,309.00 to $1,316.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,500.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,413.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,380.39.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock traded up $52.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1,426.13. 2,790,212 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,931,820. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $834.19 and a twelve month high of $1,449.68. The company has a market cap of $1.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 47.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,194.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,090.89.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $7.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.68 by $1.80. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 33.53% and a return on equity of 97.83%. The company had revenue of $24.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.02 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 33.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,190.00, for a total transaction of $5,950,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,131,250. This represents a 29.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 54,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,628,139.70. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their position. 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 a total of 13,500 shares of company stock worth $15,958,170 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LLY. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 67,540,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,009,981,000 after buying an additional 1,046,558 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,215,754 shares of the company's stock worth $43,438,262,000 after acquiring an additional 605,752 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter worth about $13,522,666,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,209,385 shares of the company's stock worth $8,647,153,000 after acquiring an additional 137,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.9% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,461,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,550,587,000 after acquiring an additional 400,538 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Eli Lilly and Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 results: Lilly reported revenue of $24.4 billion, up approximately 39% year over year, while adjusted EPS of $7.48 substantially exceeded analyst expectations. Lilly Q3 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: GLP-1 sales remained the primary catalyst: Mounjaro revenue rose 65% to $10.7 billion and Zepbound generated $5.35 billion, reinforcing Lilly’s leadership in diabetes and obesity treatments. Combined sales exceeded $16 billion. Tirzepatide Q3 sales
• Positive Sentiment: Higher outlook: Lilly raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $91 billion-$92 billion from $85 billion-$87 billion. Expanding Medicare access, middle-income demand and continued obesity-drug adoption supported the improved outlook. Lilly earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline momentum improved: Positive Phase 3 results for experimental obesity and diabetes drug retatrutide versus Ozempic strengthened expectations for Lilly’s next generation of metabolic medicines. The FDA also approved additional Mounjaro cardiovascular-risk labeling and once-weekly basal insulin Onswik. Retatrutide trial results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target from $1,500 to $1,600 and maintained an “outperform” rating, signaling confidence that earnings momentum can continue.
• Neutral Sentiment: Lilly’s quarter included roughly $900 million of benefits from Jardiance milestones and favorable rebate and discount adjustments, factors that may not recur.
• Negative Sentiment: Pricing and cost risks remain: Realized prices declined about 15%, with volume growth doing the work of offsetting lower prices. Lilly also recorded approximately $4.2 billion in acquired in-process research-and-development charges, while management acknowledged ongoing pricing pressure. Reuters Lilly outlook report

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company NYSE: LLY is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of medical conditions. Its major therapeutic areas include diabetes and obesity, oncology, immunology, neuroscience and cardiovascular health.

The company's portfolio includes Mounjaro and Trulicity for diabetes, Zepbound for chronic weight management, Humalog insulin, Taltz for inflammatory diseases, Verzenio for certain breast cancers and Kisunla for early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease.

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