Do Wall Street Analysts Like Eli Lilly Stock?

Headquartered in Indianapolis, Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) is a leading pharmaceutical company that offers a diversified product range, including new successful drugs, and maintains a robust pipeline. With an impressive market cap of $774.6 billion, Eli Lilly has expanded its portfolio through acquisitions like ImClone Systems (Erbitux), ICOS Corporation (Cialis), Hypnion, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals (Reyvow), Loxo Oncology, and Dermira.

Shares of the drug maker have outshined the broader market over the past year. While LLY has surged 92.6% over this time frame, the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) is up 24.5%. In 2024, the stock has returned 40.7%, while SPX rallied 9.8% on a YTD basis.

Zooming in further, LLY has also outperformed the US Pharmaceuticals Ishares ETF (IHE), boasting double-digit returns compared to the exchange-traded fund's gains of 13.5% over the past year and 5.2% returns on a YTD basis.

Shares of Eli Lilly shot 6% on April 30 following the release of its robust Q1 earnings results. Moreover, on May 21, its shares surged 2.6% due to promising test results for a Crohn's disease treatment.

For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect LLY’s EPS to grow 117.7% year over year to $13.76. Moreover, the company’s earnings surprise history is strong. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.

Eli Lilly stock has a consensus “Strong Buy” rating overall. Out of 21 analysts covering the stock, 18 advise a "Strong Buy," one suggests a "Moderate Buy," and two recommend a "Hold."

The consensus rating has been consistent over the past three months.

On April 30, BMO Capital Markets raised its price target for Eli Lilly to $1,001 from $900 and maintained an “Outperform” rating. This adjustment came after Eli Lilly announced a $2 billion increase in its fiscal 2024 revenue guidance. BMO Capital noted that demand for Eli Lilly's drugs is outpacing supply and highlighted promising prospects for margin improvement due to strategic pricing and delayed approvals of donanemab, mirikizumab, and lebrikizumab.

Despite trading at a premium to its mean price target, the stock's Street-high target of $1,023 indicates a potential upside of 25.5%.

More Stock Market News from Barchart

On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here