Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $755.00, but opened at $785.20. Eli Lilly and Company shares last traded at $783.67, with a volume of 996,379 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on LLY shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,106.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,007.94.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 3.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $861.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $870.20. The firm has a market cap of $744.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.43.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.22%.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,041,631,000 after purchasing an additional 12,448,888 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the first quarter valued at about $932,797,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,287 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 90,438.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 937,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,403,000 after purchasing an additional 936,033 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,990,000 after buying an additional 692,303 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.