Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Upgraded to Buy at Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Analysts at Erste Group Bank have upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, indicating positive sentiment towards the stock.
• Guggenheim has raised its price target for Eli Lilly shares from $875.00 to $948.00, while other firms have varied in their ratings and price targets for the company.
• Eli Lilly reported an impressive 37.6% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, reaching $15.56 billion, and exceeded earnings expectations with an EPS of $6.31.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Erste Group Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LLY. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $875.00 to $948.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $700.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $830.00 target price (down previously from $970.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $948.06.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY opened at $818.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $743.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $765.54. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $623.78 and a fifty-two week high of $937.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $774.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.47.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.92 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Daniel Skovronsky purchased 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $634.40 per share, with a total value of $634,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,660 shares in the company, valued at $87,331,504. This trade represents a 0.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David A. Ricks purchased 1,632 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $644.77 per share, with a total value of $1,052,264.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 546,601 shares in the company, valued at $352,431,926.77. The trade was a 0.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 4,514 shares of company stock worth $2,894,841. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LLY. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 97.5% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 101,305,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,669,349,000 after acquiring an additional 50,002,551 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,407,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,680,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,038 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,707,512 shares of the company's stock worth $10,495,261,000 after purchasing an additional 81,587 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11,537,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,827,714,000. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

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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