In the latest trading session, Eli Lilly (LLY) closed at $123.50, marking no change from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.3%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.38%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.44%.
Coming into today, shares of the drugmaker had gained 4.65% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 2.07%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.91%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from LLY as it approaches its next earnings release. On that day, LLY is projected to report earnings of $1.35 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 0.75%.
LLY's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.63 per share and revenue of $25.32 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +1.44% and +3.1%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for LLY. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.21% higher within the past month. LLY is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.
In terms of valuation, LLY is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 21.93. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 15.09, so we one might conclude that LLY is trading at a premium comparatively.
It is also worth noting that LLY currently has a PEG ratio of 2.49. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.09 at yesterday's closing price.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 97, putting it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report
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