Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,009.72.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $839.44 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $835.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $838.30. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $711.40 and a 1-year high of $972.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $795.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.69, 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,320,226,000 after purchasing an additional 475,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,389,651,000 after buying an additional 291,875 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,747,214,000 after buying an additional 2,012,129 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth $8,407,908,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,757,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,304,811,000 after buying an additional 1,493,673 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Eli Lilly and Company

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.