Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Down 3.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) fell 3.5% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $677.09 and last traded at $712.44. 2,545,935 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 3,324,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $738.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LLY shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $684.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.66, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $846.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $830.05.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (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, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,320,226,000 after buying an additional 475,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,389,651,000 after acquiring an additional 291,875 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 103,831.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,866,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,278,292,000 after purchasing an additional 14,852,076 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 valued at $9,747,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,407,908,000. 82.53% of the stock is 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.