Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $1,430.00 to $1,596.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Argus lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,300.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. HSBC raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “reduce” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,410.00 to $1,440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,309.00 to $1,316.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,250.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,398.43.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 3.1%

LLY opened at $1,415.64 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $834.19 and a fifty-two week high of $1,449.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.95, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,197.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,092.57.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $7.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.71 by $1.77. The company had revenue of $24.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.58 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 31.90% and a return on equity of 93.68%. Eli Lilly and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 35.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,190.00, for a total transaction of $5,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,131,250. This trade represents a 29.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrik Jonsson sold 6,500 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,175.10, for a total value of $7,638,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 67,540,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,009,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,558 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,215,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,438,262,000 after purchasing an additional 605,752 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter valued at $13,522,666,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.9% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 137,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 7.9% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,461,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,550,587,000 after buying an additional 400,538 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Eli Lilly and Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results substantially beat expectations. Revenue rose 39% year over year to $24.4 billion, while adjusted EPS was $7.48 versus the $5.68 consensus estimate. Mounjaro sales increased 65% to $10.7 billion and Zepbound sales rose 49% to $5.35 billion. Lilly third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Lilly raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $91 billion-$92 billion, up from $85 billion-$87 billion previously. Strong demand, broader Medicare access and growing middle-income adoption are supporting expectations for continued GLP-1 expansion. Q3 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings. Scotiabank lifted its target to $1,605 with a “sector outperform” rating, Morgan Stanley raised its target to $1,596 with an “overweight” rating, and RBC moved to $1,600 with an “outperform” rating. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline and portfolio diversification offer additional upside. Positive Phase 3 retatrutide data strengthened Lilly’s competitive position against Novo Nordisk, while oncology, immunology and neuroscience products are beginning to contribute more meaningfully. Lilly growth opportunities
• Negative Sentiment: Investors face execution and valuation risks. Realized prices fell 15%, meaning volume growth must continue to offset pricing pressure. Results also benefited from roughly $900 million in one-time items, and acquired in-process research charges weighed on earnings. With GLP-1 drugs representing a large share of revenue and the stock near its high, expectations are elevated. Reuters earnings report

About Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets medicines for a range of medical conditions. Its major therapeutic areas include diabetes and obesity, oncology, immunology, neuroscience and cardiovascular health.

The company’s portfolio includes Mounjaro and Trulicity for diabetes, Zepbound for chronic weight management, Humalog insulin, Taltz for inflammatory diseases, Verzenio for certain breast cancers and Kisunla for early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.