Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 1.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Eli Lilly's stock rose by 1.5% on Thursday, trading at $716.18 after being as high as $716.75, despite a significant drop in trading volume compared to its average.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Eli Lilly, with ratings ranging from a "Strong Buy" to "Reduce," and an average price target set at $950.17.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations with $6.31 EPS and $15.56 billion in revenue, up 37.6% from the previous year.

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) were up 1.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $716.75 and last traded at $716.18. Approximately 1,464,619 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 4,162,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $705.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. HSBC cut Eli Lilly and Company from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $895.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Leerink Partnrs cut Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $950.17.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.2%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $758.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $792.41. The firm has a market cap of $675.63 billion, a PE ratio of 46.66, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.44. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $6.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.40 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 92.72% and a net margin of 25.91%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 37.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.92 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 21.750-23.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, Director Jamere Jackson purchased 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $639.56 per share, for a total transaction of $127,912.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,013,143.12. This trade represents a 2.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David A. Ricks purchased 1,632 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $644.77 per share, with a total value of $1,052,264.64. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 546,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $352,431,926.77. The trade was a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 4,514 shares of company stock valued at $2,894,841. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LLY. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 97.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 101,305,650 shares of the company's stock worth $83,669,349,000 after acquiring an additional 50,002,551 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 103,831.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,866,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,278,292,000 after purchasing an additional 14,852,076 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 78,621.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,552,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,005,392,000 after purchasing an additional 11,537,661 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter valued at about $8,827,714,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the first quarter valued at about $4,613,912,000. Institutional investors 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.

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