Ninety One North America Inc. Acquires Shares of 6,581 Eli Lilly and Company $LLY

Ninety One North America Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,072,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 80,959,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,771,785,000 after acquiring an additional 551,659 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,726,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,496,364,000 after acquiring an additional 219,590 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 25,088,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,141,787,000 after acquiring an additional 4,332,008 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,563,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,112,164,000 after acquiring an additional 574,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,001,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,628,447,000 after acquiring an additional 579,381 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LLY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Argus increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $930.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. HSBC downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $1,070.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partners increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,234.00 to $1,296.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,224.59.

Key Stories Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Eli Lilly and Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lilly announced a deal to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics in a transaction worth up to $7 billion (about $3.25B upfront), adding an in‑vivo CAR‑T platform and an early‑stage multiple myeloma program to its genetic‑medicine/oncology pipeline — a strategic diversification beyond GLP‑1s that supports long‑term growth expectations. Lilly to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics (PR Newswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts view the Kelonia purchase as a strategic bet on next‑generation in‑vivo CAR‑T; UBS maintained a Buy with a $1,250 target, highlighting pipeline upside that could materially expand Lilly’s long‑term addressable market. MSN: Eli Lilly doubles down on in vivo with $7bn Kelonia buyout
• Neutral Sentiment: Lilly formally ended a prior collaboration with Rigel Pharmaceuticals; Rigel says it has regained rights to the program. This is more of a portfolio cleanup than a material pipeline loss for Lilly, but it removes optionality tied to that partnership. Rigel regains rights as Lilly ends collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: A court ruled Eli Lilly can proceed with a lawsuit against a telehealth seller of weight‑loss drugs — the case could protect Lilly’s commercial and IP interests but is ongoing and uncertain in outcome. Court allows Lilly lawsuit to proceed (Courthouse News)
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and distribution risks are pressuring sentiment: coverage highlights Amazon’s moves into GLP‑1 distribution, which could increase price/volume pressure in Lilly’s high‑margin weight‑loss franchise. This helped weigh on the stock despite the acquisition. How Amazon is shaking up the GLP‑1 game (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term market reaction: coverage and trading notes show LLY pulled back more than the market on these headlines as investors weigh the near‑term cash outflow, dilution of focus from blockbuster GLP‑1s, and competitive risks. Zacks: LLY declines more than market

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:LLY opened at $903.54 on Wednesday. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $623.78 and a twelve month high of $1,133.95. The company has a market cap of $853.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $966.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $984.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $7.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.48 by $0.06. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 102.94% and a net margin of 31.66%.The business had revenue of $19.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 33.500-35.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 34.7 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.