Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Stock Falls 5.8% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Elanco Animal Health shares fell 5.8% to about $22.12 after insider Timothy Bettington sold 4,350 shares for approximately $100,050 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $29.42, although Jefferies lowered its target to $24 and kept a hold rating.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.34 EPS and $1.37 billion in revenue, while institutional investors own 97.48% of its outstanding shares.

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $22.50 and last traded at $22.1210. 879,071 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 5,584,529 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.49.

Specifically, insider Timothy Bettington sold 4,350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $100,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 138,911 shares in the company, valued at $3,194,953. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Elanco Animal Health from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down from $31.00) on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.42.

Elanco Animal Health Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $23.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.70.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Elanco Animal Health had a negative net margin of 3.96% and a positive return on equity of 8.13%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Elanco Animal Health has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.190-0.220 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.100-1.160 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Elanco Animal Health Incorporated will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELAN. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Elanco Animal Health during the second quarter worth $1,202,198,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elanco Animal Health in the second quarter valued at $3,279,000. S&CO Inc. acquired a new stake in Elanco Animal Health during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,738,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 3,358.1% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 202,747 shares of the company's stock worth $4,852,000 after buying an additional 196,884 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 4,611,977 shares of the company's stock worth $103,262,000 after buying an additional 1,645,331 shares during the period. 97.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elanco Animal Health Company Profile

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets products for pets and food-producing animals. Its portfolio is designed to help prevent and treat disease, control parasites and support the health and productivity of animals.

The company's products include vaccines, parasiticides, antibiotics, nutritional supplements and other prescription and over-the-counter therapies. Its companion animal offerings address conditions such as flea and tick infestations, internal parasites, osteoarthritis and dermatological disorders, while its farm animal products support the health of cattle, poultry, swine and aquaculture species.

Elanco serves customers in markets around the world through relationships with veterinarians, animal owners, livestock producers, retailers and distributors.

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