Bell Asset Management Ltd Sells 1,092 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Key Points

• Bell Asset Management cut its Eli Lilly position by 32.5% in the third quarter, selling 1,092 shares and retaining 2,269 shares valued at approximately $2.625 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.53% of LLY.
• Eli Lilly reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 47.7% year over year to $22.97 billion and EPS of $8.38, exceeding analyst expectations. Growth prospects remain tied to Mounjaro, Zepbound, retatrutide, oncology products and expanded drug-discovery efforts, including a planned AI laboratory with Nvidia.
• Analysts maintain a broadly bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $1,313.43, but the stock’s roughly 39-times earnings valuation leaves it exposed to slowing growth, GLP-1 competition, pricing pressure and regulatory uncertainty.

Bell Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Free Report) by 32.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,269 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,092 shares during the period. Bell Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $2,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,804,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $966,000. Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,993,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,228,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 55.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 68,083 shares of the company's stock worth $78,778,000 after buying an additional 24,274 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Eli Lilly (LLY) to $1,440 from $1,410 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. Cantor Fitzgerald price target report
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly and Nvidia committed up to $1 billion to establish an artificial-intelligence drug-discovery laboratory. The initiative could improve research efficiency and strengthen Lilly’s future pipeline, although financial benefits are likely long term. Nvidia and Eli Lilly AI drug discovery lab
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary remains bullish on Lilly’s growth beyond Mounjaro and Zepbound, highlighting retatrutide, manufacturing expansion, oncology products and other pipeline opportunities. Retatrutide’s potential for greater weight loss could provide another major growth driver if late-stage trials and regulatory review succeed. Eli Lilly obesity business analysis
• Positive Sentiment: New early-stage studies are expanding Lilly’s obesity and Alzheimer’s pipelines, while its oncology portfolio—including Jaypirca, Inluriyo and Retevmo—could offset slower growth from mature products. Lilly obesity drug trial
• Neutral Sentiment: Lilly signed a research collaboration and licensing agreement with InnoCare Pharma covering as many as five drug targets. The deal broadens potential discovery opportunities, but the targets remain early-stage and do not yet provide near-term revenue visibility. InnoCare and Eli Lilly deal
• Negative Sentiment: LLY remains valued at roughly 40 times trailing earnings, leaving the shares sensitive to slowing growth, pricing pressure and stronger competition in the GLP-1 market. Recent commentary argues the long-term opportunity is attractive but acknowledges that expectations are already high.
• Negative Sentiment: New WHO childhood-obesity guidance may increase scrutiny around the use, access and long-term safety of obesity medicines, creating regulatory and reimbursement uncertainty for Lilly and Novo Nordisk. WHO childhood obesity guidelines

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $1,169.77 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12-month low of $783.85 and a 12-month high of $1,292.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,173.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,096.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.40 by $1.98. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 33.53% and a return on equity of 97.83%. The business had revenue of $22.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 36.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total value of $7,638,150.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,147 shares in the company, valued at $63,628,139.70. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total value of $2,370,020.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,526 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,808,325.26. This trade represents a 56.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 13,500 shares of company stock valued at $15,958,170 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $1,376.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,273.00 to $1,284.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,300.00 to $1,385.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,313.43.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, the company researches, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of conditions, including diabetes, obesity, cancer, immunological disorders, neurological diseases and pain.

Its products include Mounjaro and Zepbound, which contain tirzepatide and are used for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management, respectively. Other key medicines include Trulicity for diabetes, Verzenio for certain breast cancers, Taltz for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, Humalog insulin, and Kisunla for early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease.

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