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Eli Lilly (LLY) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Eli Lilly (LLY - Free Report) closed at $318.43, marking a +1.07% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.62%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1.17%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 12.91%.

Coming into today, shares of the drugmaker had lost 4.73% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 3.29%, while the S&P 500 lost 4.54%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Eli Lilly as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Eli Lilly to post earnings of $1.62 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 38.17%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.71 billion, down 14.07% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $8.48 per share and revenue of $30.49 billion. These totals would mark changes of +6.8% and +6.83%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Eli Lilly should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 3.43% higher. Eli Lilly is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Eli Lilly has a Forward P/E ratio of 37.16 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 13.98, so we one might conclude that Eli Lilly is trading at a premium comparatively.

We can also see that LLY currently has a PEG ratio of 1.8. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.66 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 111, which puts it in the top 45% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow LLY in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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