Investors Buy High Volume of Eli Lilly and Company Call Options (NYSE:LLY)

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 138,522 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 87% compared to the typical volume of 74,172 call options.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:LLY traded up $8.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1,025.94. The company had a trading volume of 3,082,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,068,429. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $623.78 and a twelve month high of $1,032.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $969.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $815.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $778.16.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $17.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 25.91% and a return on equity of 92.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 53.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.35%.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LLY. 10Elms LLP raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 33.3% in the third quarter. 10Elms LLP now owns 40 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 3,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,018,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Manske Wealth Management grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.5% during the third quarter. Manske Wealth Management now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,302,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LLY shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Leerink Partners upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $886.00 to $1,104.00 in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $925.00 to $985.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $999.32.

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.