Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Shares Gap Up to $13.73

Shares of Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.73, but opened at $14.26. Elanco Animal Health shares last traded at $14.16, with a volume of 335,059 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ELAN. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Elanco Animal Health from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley cut Elanco Animal Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Elanco Animal Health from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.43.

Elanco Animal Health Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of -5.40, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.06. Elanco Animal Health had a negative net margin of 27.94% and a positive return on equity of 7.29%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Elanco Animal Health Incorporated will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,301,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,886,450. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Michael J. Harrington acquired 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $14.85 per share, for a total transaction of $51,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 81,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,245.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons bought 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.01 per share, with a total value of $1,301,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 145,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,886,450. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Elanco Animal Health

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ELAN. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 337.7% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Elanco Animal Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elanco Animal Health in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Elanco Animal Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Elanco Animal Health in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. 97.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elanco Animal Health Company Profile

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated, an animal health company, innovates, develops, manufactures, and markets products for pets and farm animals. It offers pet health disease prevention products, such as parasiticide and vaccine products that protect pets from worms, fleas, and ticks under the Seresto, Advantage, Advantix, and Advocate brands; pet health therapeutics for pain, osteoarthritis, ear infections, cardiovascular, and dermatology indications in canines and felines under the Galliprant and Claro brands; vaccines, antibiotics, parasiticides, and other products for use in poultry and aquaculture production, as well as nutritional health products, including enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics; and a range of vaccines, antibiotics, implants, parasiticides, and other products used in ruminant and swine production under the Rumensin and Baytril brands.