Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Up 2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares rose 2% after Guggenheim raised its price target to $1,183 and maintained a Buy; LLY traded as high as $922.54 and last at $921.01 on mid-day volume about 16% below average.
• Lilly agreed to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $7B, adding an in‑vivo CAR‑T platform and early oncology programs to diversify beyond GLP‑1 treatments.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive (MarketBeat average rating: Moderate Buy, average price target $1,225.33), and Lilly recently beat Q1 revenue/EPS estimates while setting FY2026 EPS guidance of 33.5–35.0.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 2% during trading on Wednesday after Guggenheim raised their price target on the stock from $1,163.00 to $1,183.00. Guggenheim currently has a buy rating on the stock. Eli Lilly and Company traded as high as $922.54 and last traded at $921.0130. 2,619,389 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 3,107,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $903.02.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. HSBC cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $1,070.00 to $850.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,150.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $960.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,293.00 to $1,294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,225.33.

Key Stories Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly agreed to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $7B, adding an in‑vivo CAR‑T platform and early clinical oncology programs — a clear move to diversify beyond GLP‑1s and build long‑term oncology upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are backing Lilly after the Kelonia deal: Guggenheim raised its price target to $1,183 and maintained a Buy, and UBS/other houses reiterated Buy ratings with higher targets, supporting further upside versus current levels. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein “pounded the table” ahead of Q1, highlighting momentum across Lilly’s portfolio—signal that some investors see continued fundamental strength into earnings. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Clinical progress: topline Phase 3 ACHIEVE‑4 results for Foundayo (type 2 diabetes) and other pipeline updates are keeping growth narratives intact for investors seeking durable revenue beyond current leaders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader oncology market reports highlight Lilly as a player in next‑gen therapies (neuroblastoma and cell‑therapy markets), reinforcing strategic rationale but not an immediate revenue driver. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: A court allowed Lilly’s lawsuit to proceed against a telehealth weight‑loss drug seller — a development that could protect pricing/IP but also entails legal uncertainty and costs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Lilly ended a collaboration with Rigel, which regained rights to certain assets — a potential near‑term pipeline/royalty loss and reminder of deal execution risks. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Some headline noise has pressured the stock previously: investor concerns include deal dilution/cash outflow for acquisitions and intensifying competition in GLP‑1s (Amazon/other entrants), which can weigh on near‑term sentiment. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,976,634,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 20.9% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 25,088,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,141,787,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332,008 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 46,191.3% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 4,047,245 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,047,245,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038,502 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 876.1% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 2,375,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,552,419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,734 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,910,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,024,022,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432,069 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 2.0%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $966.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $984.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $870.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $7.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.48 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.85 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 31.66% and a return on equity of 102.94%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 42.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.32 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 33.500-35.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company NYSE: LLY is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.

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