Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Twelve analysts rate Elanco a Moderate Buy (1 sell, 2 hold, 8 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $27.67.
• Quarterly beat and guidance: Elanco reported $0.13 EPS vs $0.11 estimate and $1.14B revenue (up 12.2% YoY), and set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $0.330–0.36 and FY 2026 guidance of $1.00–1.06.
• Insider and institutional activity: CEO and other insiders bought shares recently (43,450 shares acquired over 90 days) while institutional investors hold the vast majority of the stock (reported ~97.48% ownership).

Shares of Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.6667.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ELAN. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Elanco Animal Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th.

Elanco Animal Health Price Performance

ELAN opened at $23.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $24.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.14. The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.32, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.83. Elanco Animal Health has a 1 year low of $8.02 and a 1 year high of $27.72.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Elanco Animal Health had a positive return on equity of 7.16% and a negative net margin of 4.92%.The business's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. Elanco Animal Health has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.330-0.36 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.060 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Elanco Animal Health will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Elanco Animal Health

In other news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons bought 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.75 per share, with a total value of $478,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 167,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,632,250. The trade was a 15.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rajeev A. Modi bought 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.33 per share, with a total value of $95,985.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 123,082 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,339.06. This trade represents a 3.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 43,450 shares of company stock valued at $937,883. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 434.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 126,334 shares of the company's stock worth $1,801,000 after buying an additional 102,686 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Elanco Animal Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,502,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Elanco Animal Health by 793.7% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 226,580 shares of the company's stock worth $4,563,000 after acquiring an additional 201,226 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Elanco Animal Health by 364.5% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 98,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 76,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System bought a new position in Elanco Animal Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,383,000. Institutional investors own 97.48% of the company's stock.

About Elanco Animal Health

Elanco Animal Health Inc is a global leader in animal health dedicated to improving food and companion animal well-being. The company develops, manufactures and markets a range of products, including parasiticides, vaccines, antibiotics and feed additives designed to prevent and treat disease in livestock and pets. Elanco's portfolio spans both food-producing animals—such as cattle, swine, poultry and aquaculture—and companion animals, with offerings that support parasite control, pain management and infectious disease prevention.

Originally founded as the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company in the mid-20th century, Elanco was spun off into an independent publicly traded company in 2018.

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