Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Elanco Animal Health was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from strong-buy to buy, though the broader analyst sentiment remains positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $28.20.
• The stock rose 2.1% and opened at $21.77, while recent earnings beat expectations: Elanco reported $0.40 EPS on $1.37 billion in revenue, both above estimates.
• Company insiders recently bought shares, including CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons and insider Rajeev A. Modi, signaling confidence; institutional investors also own a large majority of the stock at 97.48%.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Sunday.

ELAN has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Elanco Animal Health from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.20.

Elanco Animal Health Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE ELAN opened at $21.77 on Friday. Elanco Animal Health has a 12-month low of $12.40 and a 12-month high of $27.72. The firm's 50-day moving average is $23.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.28. The company has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of -43.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.06. Elanco Animal Health had a negative net margin of 4.95% and a positive return on equity of 7.42%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Elanco Animal Health has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.285 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.030-1.090 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Elanco Animal Health will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elanco Animal Health news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons bought 4,971 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.09 per share, with a total value of $99,867.39. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 171,971 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,454,897.39. This trade represents a 2.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rajeev A. Modi acquired 4,911 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.35 per share, for a total transaction of $99,938.85. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 160,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,272,524.20. This trade represents a 3.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 72,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 111,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.48% of the company's stock.

Elanco Animal Health Company Profile

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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