Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Shares Climb 3.8% – Time to Buy?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s share price rose 3.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $1,216.71 and last traded at $1,211.0830. 3,129,240 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 6% from the average session volume of 2,953,200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,166.51.

Trending Headlines about Eli Lilly and Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group raised their FY2026 EPS estimate for Eli Lilly to $36.55 from $36.45 and their FY2027 estimate to $47.30 from $47.18, reinforcing expectations for continued earnings growth. Analyst earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly-backed TRex Bio raised $116.7 million in an initial public offering. Although the transaction is not a direct Lilly financing event, the IPO provides validation and potential funding for a partner developing treatments in immunology and autoimmune disease. TRex Bio IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Prelude Therapeutics and Lilly announced a clinical collaboration to test Prelude’s experimental KAT6A degrader in combination with established breast-cancer therapies. Enrollment is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, adding another potential catalyst to Lilly’s oncology pipeline. Prelude and Lilly collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary continues to highlight Lilly’s strong obesity-drug franchise, broad pipeline and potential for retatrutide to become a major future growth driver beyond Zepbound. Retatrutide outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting the October 29 earnings report, with analysts expecting continued earnings growth. Results, guidance and updates on retatrutide will likely determine whether Lilly’s premium valuation can be sustained. Lilly earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: A reported combination study produced greater weight loss than Zepbound but also had substantially higher discontinuation rates, highlighting tolerability and adherence risks for Lilly’s next-generation obesity medicines. Weight-loss combination study

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,400.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,367.00 to $1,371.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,250.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Berenberg Bank set a $1,400.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,419.00 to $1,430.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,313.43.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 3.8%

The firm has a market cap of $1.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,176.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,102.08.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.40 by $1.98. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 33.53% and a return on equity of 97.83%. The company had revenue of $22.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.31 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 34.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,190.00, for a total value of $5,950,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,875 shares in the company, valued at $14,131,250. The trade was a 29.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 54,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,628,139.70. The trade was a 10.72% 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 13,500 shares of company stock valued at $15,958,170 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Maseco LLP raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 466.7% during the first quarter. Maseco LLP now owns 34 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Aventus Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 270.0% during the 1st quarter. Aventus Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 37 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, the company researches, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of conditions, including diabetes, obesity, cancer, immunological disorders, neurological diseases and pain.

Its products include Mounjaro and Zepbound, which contain tirzepatide and are used for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management, respectively. Other key medicines include Trulicity for diabetes, Verzenio for certain breast cancers, Taltz for inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, Humalog insulin, and Kisunla for early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.