Morgan Stanley Reaffirms “Overweight” Rating for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,023.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 13.03% from the stock’s previous close.

LLY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,001.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $994.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $816.78.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LLY traded up $6.95 on Friday, reaching $905.05. 329,676 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,927,698. The business’s 50-day moving average is $828.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $747.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $860.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.70, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $434.34 and a fifty-two week high of $918.50.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.94 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 17.08% and a return on equity of 56.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.47, for a total transaction of $614,602.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,130 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,842,821.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Johna Norton sold 7,056 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.38, for a total transaction of $5,781,545.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,428 shares in the company, valued at $20,835,194.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.47, for a total value of $614,602.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,842,821.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 858,742 shares of company stock valued at $735,573,781. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 189.0% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 19,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,408,000 after acquiring an additional 12,673 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 2.5% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 26,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,117,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 18.4% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 6,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,251,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 4.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.4% in the third quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,587,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.