Short Interest in Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) Decreases By 9.1%

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,090,000 shares, a decline of 9.1% from the August 31st total of 13,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Harrington acquired 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.85 per share, for a total transaction of $51,975.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 81,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,245.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons acquired 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.01 per share, with a total value of $1,301,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 145,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,886,450. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Harrington acquired 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.85 per share, with a total value of $51,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 81,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,204,245.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ELAN. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Elanco Animal Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $781,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 6.2% during the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 252,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 14,653 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Elanco Animal Health by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 62,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 20,341 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its position in Elanco Animal Health by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,945,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,445,000 after buying an additional 36,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Elanco Animal Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Elanco Animal Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELAN traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, reaching $14.51. The stock had a trading volume of 4,453,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,858,449. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.93. The stock has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $14.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.05. Elanco Animal Health has a 12-month low of $8.52 and a 12-month high of $18.80.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.06. Elanco Animal Health had a negative net margin of 27.94% and a positive return on equity of 7.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. Elanco Animal Health’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Elanco Animal Health will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ELAN shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Elanco Animal Health from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut Elanco Animal Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Elanco Animal Health has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.43.

About Elanco Animal Health

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated, an animal health company, innovates, develops, manufactures, and markets products for pets and farm animals. It offers pet health disease prevention products, such as parasiticide and vaccine products that protect pets from worms, fleas, and ticks under the Seresto, Advantage, Advantix, and Advocate brands; pet health therapeutics for pain, osteoarthritis, ear infections, cardiovascular, and dermatology indications in canines and felines under the Galliprant and Claro brands; vaccines, antibiotics, parasiticides, and other products for use in poultry and aquaculture production, as well as nutritional health products, including enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics; and a range of vaccines, antibiotics, implants, parasiticides, and other products used in ruminant and swine production under the Rumensin and Baytril brands.