Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Trading Down 2% – Should You Sell?

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s stock price fell 2% on Monday . The company traded as low as $789.40 and last traded at $805.69. 785,972 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 3,299,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $822.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LLY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $997.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 0.1 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $844.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $835.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $778.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.15, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LLY. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,208,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,070,698,000 after purchasing an additional 60,306 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 12,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,191,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Plotkin Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter worth $845,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,618,000. Hedge funds and other 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.