Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $24.89 and last traded at $24.8030, with a volume of 864017 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.53.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.78.

Insider Activity at Elanco Animal Health

In related news, insider Rajeev A. Modi purchased 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.33 per share, for a total transaction of $95,985.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 123,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,339.06. This trade represents a 3.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons purchased 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $478,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 167,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,250. This trade represents a 15.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 43,450 shares of company stock valued at $937,883 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 2,563.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Elanco Animal Health by 136.7% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Elanco Animal Health by 80.3% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 79.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Elanco Animal Health by 184.3% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Elanco Animal Health Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.87. The company has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 406.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.87.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.06. Elanco Animal Health had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 0.78%.The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. Elanco Animal Health’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Elanco Animal Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.910-0.940 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.090-0.120 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Elanco Animal Health Incorporated will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elanco Animal Health Company Profile

Elanco Animal Health Inc is a global leader in animal health dedicated to improving food and companion animal well-being. The company develops, manufactures and markets a range of products, including parasiticides, vaccines, antibiotics and feed additives designed to prevent and treat disease in livestock and pets. Elanco’s portfolio spans both food-producing animals—such as cattle, swine, poultry and aquaculture—and companion animals, with offerings that support parasite control, pain management and infectious disease prevention.

Originally founded as the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company in the mid-20th century, Elanco was spun off into an independent publicly traded company in 2018.