Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Upgraded to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Eli Lilly to “Buy” from “Hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $1,398.43.
• Eli Lilly reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 38.6% year over year to $24.4 billion and EPS of $7.48, exceeding expectations of $5.71.
• Shares opened at $1,415.64, near their 12-month high of $1,449.68; analysts cited continued GLP-1 demand and pipeline growth, while warning of valuation, pricing, and execution risks.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $1,625.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,250.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,410.00 to $1,440.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted 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 report on Friday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,398.43.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of LLY opened at $1,415.64 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1,197.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,092.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.46. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $834.19 and a 12 month high of $1,449.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $7.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.71 by $1.77. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 93.68% 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total value of $2,370,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,808,325.26. The trade was a 56.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total transaction of $7,638,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,500 shares of company stock worth $15,958,170. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

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

Key Headlines Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results substantially beat expectations. Revenue rose 39% year over year to $24.4 billion, while adjusted EPS was $7.48 versus the $5.68 consensus estimate. Mounjaro sales increased 65% to $10.7 billion and Zepbound sales rose 49% to $5.35 billion. Lilly third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $91 billion-$92 billion, up from $85 billion-$87 billion previously. Strong demand, broader Medicare access and growing middle-income adoption are supporting expectations for continued GLP-1 expansion. Q3 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings. Scotiabank lifted its target to $1,605 with a “sector outperform” rating, Morgan Stanley raised its target to $1,596 with an “overweight” rating, and RBC moved to $1,600 with an “outperform” rating. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline and portfolio diversification offer additional upside. Positive Phase 3 retatrutide data strengthened Lilly’s competitive position against Novo Nordisk, while oncology, immunology and neuroscience products are beginning to contribute more meaningfully. Lilly growth opportunities
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face execution and valuation risks. Realized prices fell 15%, meaning volume growth must continue to offset pricing pressure. Results also benefited from roughly $900 million in one-time items, and acquired in-process research charges weighed on earnings. With GLP-1 drugs representing a large share of revenue and the stock near its high, expectations are elevated. Reuters earnings report

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.