Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $1,000.00 to $970.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 20.80% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com raised Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,025.00 to $1,015.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Eli Lilly and Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.22.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY opened at $803.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $762.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $779.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $846.28. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $637.00 and a twelve month high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 20.48% and a return on equity of 71.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $803.38, for a total transaction of $723,042.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LLY. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 87,091.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,463,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,041,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,448,888 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 92,759.9% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,022,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,287 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 37,140.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 694,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,990,000 after purchasing an additional 692,303 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 126,531.5% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 678,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,991,000 after purchasing an additional 678,209 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 100.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,165,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,032,737,000 after purchasing an additional 584,866 shares during the period. 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.