Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Down 3.4% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Eli Lilly shares fell 3.4% to $1,191.49 amid profit-taking and concerns that employer restrictions on GLP-1 drug coverage could slow Zepbound and Foundayo growth.
• The company continues to report strong fundamentals: quarterly earnings and revenue exceeded estimates, with revenue rising 47.7% year over year. Its pipeline also gained momentum through Zepbound real-world data, FDA clearance of an Alzheimer’s blood test, and a new Alzheimer’s Phase 1 trial.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $1,292.18, although insider selling and Lilly’s elevated valuation may weigh on near-term sentiment.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $1,180.01 and last traded at $1,191.49. Approximately 2,977,720 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 3,090,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,233.66.

Key Headlines Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: A real-world study found that adults over 55 who continued using Zepbound experienced fewer hospitalizations and emergency-room visits, resulting in lower healthcare costs. The findings could support broader payer adoption and the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program. Zepbound real-world study
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly and Roche received FDA clearance for an Alzheimer’s blood test, expanding potential diagnostic tools connected to the Alzheimer’s market. The test had previously been approved in Europe. Alzheimer’s blood test FDA clearance
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly is expanding its Alzheimer’s pipeline with a new Phase 1 amyloid-targeting study. While early-stage, the program adds to the company’s longer-term growth opportunities alongside Kisunla. Lilly Alzheimer’s Phase 1 trial
• Positive Sentiment: Citadel founder Ken Griffin reportedly nearly quadrupled his Lilly position during the second quarter, signaling continued institutional confidence in the company’s obesity-drug franchise and broader pipeline. Ken Griffin increases Lilly stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Foundayo’s launch in the United Kingdom gives Lilly’s oral obesity-drug franchise another international market, although the financial impact will depend heavily on reimbursement and pricing. Foundayo UK launch
• Negative Sentiment: Employers are becoming more selective about covering GLP-1 weight-loss medicines. Reports that PepsiCo’s health plan will remove coverage for certain obesity drugs have intensified concerns that payer restrictions could slow Zepbound and Foundayo volume growth. GLP-1 coverage concerns
• Negative Sentiment: After a strong run and elevated valuation, investors appear to be taking profits. Recent insider activity also shows several Lilly executives selling shares, which may add to short-term sentiment pressure, though it does not necessarily indicate a change in fundamentals. Lilly stock pullback

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LLY. Bank of America upped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,251.00 to $1,334.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,280.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,419.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $880.00 to $900.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,292.18.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 3.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,184.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,062.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.40 by $1.98. The firm had revenue of $22.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 97.83% and a net margin of 33.53%.The company's revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.31 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 36.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company's payout ratio is 23.22%.

Insider Transactions 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,526 shares in the company, valued at $1,808,325.26. This trade represents a 56.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,500 shares of company stock worth $15,958,170. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LLY. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 120,133.2% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,460,379,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,751,622,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459,164,568 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,965,974 shares of the company's stock worth $88,087,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,885 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 67,540,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,009,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,558 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,361,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,002,744,000 after purchasing an additional 635,358 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,593,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,757,510,000 after purchasing an additional 407,166 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company NYSE: LLY is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source