Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 66,549 call options on the company. This is an increase of 37% compared to the average volume of 48,646 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,060.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $885.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,033.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,100.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,007.94.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 900 shares of Eli Lilly and Company 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,522.40. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eli Lilly and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 48 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:LLY opened at $789.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $859.30 and its 200-day moving average is $870.41. The company has a market cap of $749.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.32, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.27. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $561.65 and a 52-week high of $972.53.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $11.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.