Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 4.6% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) traded down 4.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $1,146.00 to $1,124.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Eli Lilly and Company traded as low as $718.81 and last traded at $718.89. 663,002 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,354,701 shares. The stock had previously closed at $753.71.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LLY. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $997.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,017.67.

Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total transaction of $818,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,778,521.60. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Eli Lilly and Company

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,208,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,698,000 after purchasing an additional 60,306 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 117.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 46,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 24,879 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 266,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,389,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 3.5% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 5,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,918,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 481 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.5 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $837.05 and a 200 day moving average of $823.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $693.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.48, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.51.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share 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, equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.