Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) Stock Price Down 4.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) were down 4.2% on Wednesday 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 $689.00 and last traded at $695.88. Approximately 1,795,788 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 3,343,069 shares. The stock had previously closed at $726.24.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on LLY. Citigroup cut 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. Bank of America reiterated 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. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Leerink Partners set a $950.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Eli Lilly and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $892.00 to $888.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,017.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,778,521.60. This trade represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,248,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,320,226,000 after acquiring an additional 475,530 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,382,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,389,651,000 after purchasing an additional 291,875 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 103,831.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,866,380 shares of the company's stock worth $12,278,292,000 after purchasing an additional 14,852,076 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,625,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,747,214,000 after buying an additional 2,012,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $8,407,908,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $693.70 billion, a PE ratio of 62.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50 day moving average price is $837.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $823.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. As a group, analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current 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.