Eli Lilly and Company Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:LLY)

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 66,549 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 37% compared to the average daily volume of 48,646 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,001.00 to $1,101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $875.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,007.94.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:LLY opened at $788.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $748.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.23, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.43. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $561.65 and a 52 week high of $972.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $856.96 and a 200 day moving average of $869.83.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.34). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 71.08% and a net margin of 20.48%. The business had revenue of $11.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Eli Lilly and Company’s payout ratio is 56.22%.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total value of $723,042.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at $4,402,522.40. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.5% during the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,865,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prio Wealth Limited Partnership raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 2,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

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.