Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Down 2.2% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Eli Lilly's stock price decreased by 2.2% on Friday, trading as low as $722.57, with significant declines in trading volume compared to its average.
• Multiple analysts have revised their ratings, with some downgrading the stock from "strong-buy" to "hold," while others maintained or increased their price targets, showing mixed sentiment.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, surpassing expectations with a revenue of $15.56 billion and an EPS of $6.31, up 37.6% from the previous year.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $722.57 and last traded at $726.38. Approximately 1,383,618 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 4,124,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at $742.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LLY shares. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $942.00 to $875.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. HSBC raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $675.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,010.00 to $900.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $950.17.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $743.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $781.22. The company has a market cap of $687.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.47, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $6.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.72. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 25.91% and a return on equity of 92.72%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 37.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 21.750-23.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Company's payout ratio is currently 39.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, Director J Erik Fyrwald acquired 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $642.33 per share, with a total value of $1,005,246.45. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 74,578 shares in the company, valued at $47,903,686.74. The trade was a 2.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel Skovronsky acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $634.40 per share, with a total value of $634,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 137,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,331,504. This trade represents a 0.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 4,514 shares of company stock valued at $2,894,841 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LLY. WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 31 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company's stock.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.