Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) fell 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $860.02 and last traded at $862.89. 581,646 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 3,149,249 shares. The stock had previously closed at $864.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on LLY shares. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 target price on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $841.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $837.54. The firm has a market cap of $779.52 billion, a PE ratio of 70.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. Equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to buyback $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,778,521.60. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LLY. Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth $1,028,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Prostatis Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $275,000. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $345,000. Finally, DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $22,566,000. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

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.