Eli Lilly (LLY) CEO David Ricks bought $1 million of company stock on the open market after the pharmaceutical giant’s share price recently suffered its worst decline since 2008.
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Ricks purchased 1,632 LLY shares at an average price of $644.77 on Aug. 12, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The stock purchase was the first by the company’s CEO since 2019.
Ricks isn’t the only insider who has purchased Eli Lilly stock after it fell 15% in the days following the company’s issuance of its second-quarter earnings report and clinical trial results for its weight-loss pill on Aug. 7. Chief Scientific Officer Dan Skovronsky bought $643,000 worth of LLY stock, while a pair of board members also scooped up shares.
Show of Confidence
The buying on the part of senior officials at Eli Lilly is a strong show of confidence in the company and its stock. The purchases come with LLY stock trading at $652.91 per share, down 33% from a 52-week high of $952.73.
The steep selloff in Eli Lilly’s stock came after clinical trial data showed the company’s new weight-loss pill led patients to shed 12% of their body weight. Wall Street had expected people in the trial to lose a minimum of 15% of their body weight. However, the weight-loss pill is still on track for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2026.
Analysts on Wall Street agree with Eli Lilly executives that the recent share price decline is a buying opportunity. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has called the selloff a “compelling entry” point for investors and reiterated a Buy-equivalent overweight rating on the stock with a $1,100 price target.
Is LLY Stock a Buy?
The stock of Eli Lilly has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 21 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 17 Buy and four Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average LLY price target of $938.17 implies 43.94% upside from current levels.
