Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Up 2.1% – Time to Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) shares were up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $1,153.95 and last traded at $1,138.9570. Approximately 2,113,752 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 3,040,423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,115.70.

Trending Headlines about Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Berenberg upgraded Eli Lilly from Hold to Strong Buy and set a $1,400 price target, implying approximately 23% upside from the referenced price. The firm expects Lilly to extend its lead in the fast-growing obesity-treatment market and sees potential for results to exceed 2026 guidance. Berenberg bullish on Eli Lilly
• Positive Sentiment: Foundayo is gaining share rapidly in the U.S. oral weight-loss market. Lilly says the drug has captured more than 30% of new patients starting oral obesity medicines, challenging Novo’s early lead. Strong adoption could support revenue growth beyond current expectations, particularly if Foundayo’s diabetes approval unlocks additional demand. Lilly says Foundayo has captured over 30% of new U.S. patients
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming data presentations reinforce Lilly’s pipeline narrative. The company plans to present results for retatrutide, Foundayo, and eloraTZP at EASD 2026. Retatrutide showed substantial weight loss and A1C improvements in pivotal testing, while Foundayo data supported its safety profile and potential cardiovascular benefits. Lilly also entered a genetic-medicines research collaboration with QurCan and made a strategic investment in the company. Lilly EASD 2026 data announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor risks remain significant. Lilly’s valuation is demanding, and the company’s growth outlook depends heavily on continued clinical progress, manufacturing execution, and innovation in obesity drugs. Reports that Lilly and Novo Nordisk paid more than 270,000 doctors to promote GLP-1 medicines could also create reputational or regulatory concerns, although the immediate financial impact is unclear. Doctors paid to promote GLP-1 drugs

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LLY shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,419.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,500.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,370.00 to $1,376.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,119.00 to $1,232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,304.86.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1,180.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,074.73.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.40 by $1.98. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 97.83% and a net margin of 33.53%.The business had revenue of $22.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.31 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 47.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 36.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total transaction of $7,638,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,628,139.70. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total transaction of $2,370,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,808,325.26. This trade represents a 56.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 13,500 shares of company stock worth $15,958,170 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LLY. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 67,540,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,009,981,000 after buying an additional 1,046,558 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,031,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,154,619,000 after acquiring an additional 61,851 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,976,634,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,522,666,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,209,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,647,153,000 after acquiring an additional 137,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of medical conditions. Its portfolio includes treatments for diabetes and obesity, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

The company’s products include Mounjaro and Trulicity for diabetes, Zepbound for chronic weight management, and insulin products such as Humalog. Lilly also markets Verzenio for certain breast cancers and Kisunla for the treatment of early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.