Sales Growth and Workforce Expansion: Novo Nordisk's sales of the weight-loss drug Wegovy led to a significant increase in workforce, growing from 43,260 employees in 2019 to 77,350 by the end of last year.
Layoffs and Hiring Freeze: As sales slow down and competition increases, the company has implemented a global hiring freeze for non-critical roles and is considering layoffs, particularly in the sales division.
Financial Pressures: The rapid expansion has resulted in increased employee costs, which have nearly doubled to $9.9 billion, while the company's gross margin has declined significantly this year.
Market Capitalization Decline: Since reaching its peak, Novo's market capitalization has dropped by $490 billion, prompting management changes and a need to reassess operational efficiency amidst profit warnings.
LLY
$1062.19+Infinity%1D
Analyst Views on LLY
Wall Street analysts forecast LLY stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for LLY is 1078 USD with a low forecast of 800.00 USD and a high forecast of 1300 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
20 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast LLY stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for LLY is 1078 USD with a low forecast of 800.00 USD and a high forecast of 1300 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
18 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 1027.510
Low
800.00
Averages
1078
High
1300
Current: 1027.510
Low
800.00
Averages
1078
High
1300
Daiwa
Narumi Nakagiri
Neutral
to
Buy
upgrade
$1,230
2025-12-16
New
Reason
Daiwa
Narumi Nakagiri
Price Target
$1,230
2025-12-16
New
upgrade
Neutral
to
Buy
Reason
Daiwa analyst Narumi Nakagiri upgraded Eli Lilly to Buy from Neutral with a $1,230 price target.
Goldman Sachs
NULL
to
Buy
maintain
$951
2025-12-15
New
Reason
Goldman Sachs
Price Target
$951
2025-12-15
New
maintain
NULL
to
Buy
Reason
Goldman Sachs raised the firm's price target on Eli Lilly to $1,145 from $951 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares.
BofA
Jason Gerberry
Buy
maintain
2025-12-15
New
Reason
BofA
Jason Gerberry
Price Target
2025-12-15
New
maintain
Buy
Reason
BofA analyst Jason Gerberry lowered the firm's price target on Eli Lilly to $1,268 from $1,286 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm, which thinks shares can continue to appreciate as Lilly executes key obesity launches and de-risks new therapies in "nearly every conceivable market segment," is shifting its valuation basis to its FY27 estimates.
Morgan Stanley
Terence Flynn
Overweight
maintain
$1,290
2025-12-11
New
Reason
Morgan Stanley
Terence Flynn
Price Target
$1,290
2025-12-11
New
maintain
Overweight
Reason
Morgan Stanley analyst Terence Flynn says Eli Lilly's retatrutide delivered what the firm views as "a competitive efficacy profile" in the first Phase 3 trial in obesity or overweight patients and osteoarthritis of the knee, but adds that the GI tolerability profile looks to be "somewhat worse" than tirzepatide. The firm, which points out that it recently lowered its retatrutide estimates and incorporated eloralinitide into its Lilly model as it sees eloralinitide being positioned further upstream in the future paradigm, expects "minimal movement" in Lilly shares on these first retatrutide data. The firm has an Overweight rating and $1,290 price target on Eli Lilly shares, which are up about 1% to $1,007 in pre-market trading.
About LLY
Eli Lilly and Company is a medicine company, which discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells pharmaceutical products worldwide. Its cardiometabolic health products include Basaglar; Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, and others; Humulin, Humulin 70/30, and others; Jardiance; Mounjaro; Trulicity; Zepbound; VERVE-102; VERVE-201, and VERVE-301. Its oncology products include Cyramza, Erbitux, Tyvyt, and Verzenio. Its immunology products include Ebglyss, Olumiant, Omvoh, and Taltz. Its neuroscience products include Emgality and Kisunla. The Company is also engaged in radiopharmaceutical discovery, development, and manufacturing efforts, and clinical and pre-clinical radioligand therapies in development for the treatment of cancer. It is also developing an oral small molecule inhibitor of a4b7 integrin for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is evaluating its novel gene therapy candidate, ixoberogene soroparvovec.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
