Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.5455.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ELAN. KeyCorp upped their target price on Elanco Animal Health from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on Elanco Animal Health from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Elanco Animal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Elanco Animal Health from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their target price on Elanco Animal Health from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th.

Elanco Animal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELAN opened at $24.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Elanco Animal Health has a twelve month low of $13.15 and a twelve month high of $27.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.99 and its 200-day moving average is $23.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.42, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.69.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.06. Elanco Animal Health had a positive return on equity of 7.42% and a negative net margin of 4.95%.The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Elanco Animal Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Elanco Animal Health has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.285 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.030-1.090 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Elanco Animal Health will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Rajeev A. Modi bought 4,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.35 per share, with a total value of $99,938.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 160,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,272,524.20. This trade represents a 3.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons bought 4,971 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.09 per share, for a total transaction of $99,867.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,454,897.39. This trade represents a 2.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Elanco Animal Health by 133.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Elanco Animal Health by 136.7% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Elanco Animal Health by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Elanco Animal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Elanco Animal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 97.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Elanco Animal Health

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.