Shares of drug maker Eli Lilly (LLY) were up over 2% in Thursday afternoon’s trading as its Zepbound weight loss drug took on a new and exciting dimension – heart disease. While Zepbound is already known for its effects in regulating blood sugar, as well as offering weight loss options, it turns out it’s got another benefit: offering protection against certain kinds of heart failure.
This makes sense in and of itself; losing weight and regulating blood sugar reduces the potential for heart disease. In fact, Zepbound patients were actually 38% less likely to be hospitalized or die from heart-related complications.
But with a successful phase three trial now in hand, Lilly is taking this to the Food and Drug Administration later on this year in a bid to get that use added to the label. With such a use in hand, that’s likely to ramp up the number of prescriptions written for it, and improve sales accordingly.
A Boost for Another Drug, Too
It actually gets better from there. A health ministry panel in Japan just gave a little extra support to donanemab, Eli Lilly’s dementia treatment. The panel recommended the drug be approved, and following that vote, formal approval by the full regulatory body is likely. That makes Lilly’s treatment the second one in the country and gives it access to a fairly wide market.
Given that, back in 2023, it was found that one in 10 Japanese was at least 80 years old, that’s a pretty hefty market. Having a stake in Japanese elder care could, therefore, prove a real winner for the bottom line.
Is Eli Lilly a Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on LLY stock based on 16 Buys and four Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 82.83% rally in its share price over the past year, the average LLY price target of $942.95 per share implies 13.25% upside potential.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
