Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Hits New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $26.66 and last traded at $26.3690, with a volume of 1858082 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.75.

The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Elanco Animal Health had a net margin of 0.78% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Elanco Animal Health has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.330-0.36 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.060 EPS.

Elanco Animal Health News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Elanco Animal Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Adjusted EPS $0.13 vs. consensus $0.11 and revenue $1.144B vs. ~$1.09B; revenue grew ~12% YoY, showing top‑line momentum. MarketBeat Q4 report
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY‑2026 targets — Company set revenue $4.95B–$5.02B and adjusted EPS $1.00–$1.06 (midpoint above prior expectations) and increased its innovation revenue target to $1.15B, reinforcing the growth narrative. PR Newswire release
• Positive Sentiment: Product execution — Elanco says it delivered all “Big 6” blockbuster‑potential products by end‑2025 (including Befrena approval in Q4), supporting the innovation growth outlook. PR Newswire release
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Analysts have been raising targets (e.g., BofA lifted its price target), which can help sentiment and lift the stock. Yahoo/Street coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 guidance essentially in line — Q1 EPS guidance of $0.330–0.360 versus consensus ~0.350 and revenue ~ $1.3B; guidance is close to Street expectations but offers limited upside. PR Newswire release
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor materials and call available — Management provided a slide deck and conference call for details; useful for drilling into segment trends (dermatology bet, Befrena adoption). Slide deck
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP loss and leverage remain — Reported Q4 net loss $276M (FY reported loss ~$232M) and net leverage ~3.6x EBITDA; although targets call for lower leverage by year‑end, these remain risks for valuation and margin conversion. PR Newswire release

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELAN has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Elanco Animal Health from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Elanco Animal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Barclays started coverage on Elanco Animal Health in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Elanco Animal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons purchased 22,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $478,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 167,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,250. This represents a 15.17% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert M. Vanhimbergen acquired 6,950 shares of Elanco Animal Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.64 per share, with a total value of $150,398.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 124,233 shares in the company, valued at $2,688,402.12. This represents a 5.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 43,450 shares of company stock valued at $937,883. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Elanco Animal Health by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 2,563.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 136.7% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Elanco Animal Health by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Elanco Animal Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Elanco Animal Health Trading Up 7.3%

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.19 billion, a PE ratio of 442.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Elanco Animal Health Company Profile

Elanco Animal Health Inc is a global leader in animal health dedicated to improving food and companion animal well-being. The company develops, manufactures and markets a range of products, including parasiticides, vaccines, antibiotics and feed additives designed to prevent and treat disease in livestock and pets. Elanco’s portfolio spans both food-producing animals—such as cattle, swine, poultry and aquaculture—and companion animals, with offerings that support parasite control, pain management and infectious disease prevention.

Originally founded as the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company in the mid-20th century, Elanco was spun off into an independent publicly traded company in 2018.