Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Up 1.8% – What’s Next?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares shot up 1.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $853.10 and last traded at $852.43. 550,923 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,141,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $837.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $835.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $838.30. The company has a market cap of $816.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,208,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,070,698,000 after acquiring an additional 60,306 shares in the last quarter. Jim Saulnier & Associates LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Truepoint Inc. boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 99.1% in the third quarter. Truepoint Inc. now owns 462 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.5% during the third quarter. Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,358,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% in the third quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

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.