CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:
We raise our target price to $906 from $885, reflecting 54.6x our 2025 EPS, justified by LLY’s robust growth outlook. We lift our 2024 EPS estimate to $13.54 from $12.50 and 2025’s to $16.59 from $15.53. LLY posted Q1 EPS of $2.58 vs. $1.62, a remarkable +59% Y/Y, $0.09 above the consensus as gross margin expansion was above expectations (82.5% in Q1 2024 vs. 78.4% in Q1 2023). Q1 revenues, up by an eye catching 26% Y/Y, were $162M below consensus estimates and $230M below our forecast as sales of Mounjaro ($1.8B) and Zepbound ($517M) were slightly lower than anticipated. Yet, LLY raised its 2024 sales guidance by $2B as it expects the strong demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound to continue and has improved visibility to boost production. We expect 2024 to be another strong year and now pencil in 27% Y/Y top-line sales growth (vs. 21% Y/Y earlier) as we anticipate continued robust momentum in the Diabetes/Obesity products, along with solid sales performance for Verzenio (+40% Y/Y in Q1) to treat breast cancer.