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

Shares of Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.5455.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Elanco Animal Health from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Elanco Animal Health from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Elanco Animal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th.

Elanco Animal Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELAN stock opened at $25.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of -50.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.68. Elanco Animal Health has a 52-week low of $13.39 and a 52-week high of $27.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.80. 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 (NYSE:ELAN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Elanco Animal Health will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons purchased 4,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.09 per share, with a total value of $99,867.39. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,454,897.39. This trade represents a 2.98% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rajeev A. Modi acquired 4,911 shares of Elanco Animal Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.35 per share, with a total value of $99,938.85. Following the transaction, the insider 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 35,227,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,197,000 after buying an additional 3,717,404 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Elanco Animal Health by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 25,082,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $567,622,000 after acquiring an additional 373,869 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in Elanco Animal Health by 56.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 16,468,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,669,000 after acquiring an additional 5,961,457 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Elanco Animal Health by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,425,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,343,000 after acquiring an additional 640,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Elanco Animal Health by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,771,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,612,000 after acquiring an additional 799,745 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

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.