Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 3.8% – Should You Sell?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s share price was down 3.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $835.11 and last traded at $836.68. Approximately 1,742,948 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 3,110,538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $869.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 0.7 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $828.77 and a 200-day moving average of $845.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.36, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 85.24% and a net margin of 23.51%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,320,226,000 after acquiring an additional 475,530 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,389,651,000 after purchasing an additional 291,875 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,747,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012,129 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the fourth quarter worth $8,407,908,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,757,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,304,811,000 after buying an additional 1,493,673 shares during the last quarter. 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.