The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Amgen and Viking Therapeutics

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 17, 2025 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Eli Lilly LLY, Novo Nordisk NVO, Amgen AMGN and Viking Therapeutics VKTX.

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

How Will Mounjaro and Zepbound Sales Aid Lilly's Upcoming Q3 Results?

Eli Lilly is a dominant player in the cardiometabolic space, all thanks to the encouraging uptake for its blockbuster GLP-1 drugs — Mounjaro (for type II diabetes [T2D]) and Zepbound (for obesity). Though both products have been on the market for a little over three years, they now account for more than half of the company’s topline. Investors will be most keen to know the sales numbers of these two drugs when Lilly reports third-quarter results on Oct. 30, before the opening bell.

Notably, Mounjaro is the market leader in new prescriptions within T2D incretin analogs, enjoying a market share of 50% in the United States. Zepbound also holds a leading market share in the anti-obesity market, with 75% of total patients taking Zepbound. This is mainly due to the improved supply of both drugs in the country as a result of ramped-up production. Sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound have also benefited from launches in new international markets.

We believe that deeper penetration in the U.S. market and increased uptake in international markets are likely to have driven the growth of both drugs in the third quarter of 2025. Our model estimates for Mounjaro and Zepbound sales are pegged at $5.33 billion and $3.46 billion, respectively, for the to-be-reported quarter.

Beyond cardiometabolic health, Lilly’s broader portfolio — including the oncology drug Verzenio and immunology drug Taltz — also continues to deliver steady growth. The company’s recently launched drugs, such as Omvoh and Ebglyss in immunology, Jaypirca in oncology and Kisunla in neuroscience, have all been contributing to top-line growth.

LLY’s Peers in the Obesity Space

According to research conducted by Goldman Sachs, the obesity market in the United States is expected to reach $100 billion by 2030. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk presently dominate this space.

Mounjaro and Zepbound directly compete with Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide medicines, Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity. Like Lilly, Novo also generates a substantial portion of revenues from both drugs.

Several other companies, like Amgen and Viking Therapeutics, are also making rapid progress in the obesity space. Amgen has launched a broad phase III program for its dual GIPR/GLP-1 agonist, MariTide, targeting obesity and diabetes. Meanwhile, Viking Therapeutics is progressing two late-stage studies of its injectable VK2735 and reported mixed mid-stage data on the oral version in August, prompting a sharp stock decline.

LLY’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of Lilly have outperformed the industry year to date.

From a valuation standpoint, Eli Lilly is expensive. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 28.29 times forward earnings, higher than its industry’s average of 15.60. However, the stock is trading below its five-year mean of 34.54.

The bottom-line estimate for 2025 has declined from $23.15 to $23.01 per share, while that for 2026 has fallen from $30.82 to $30.79 over the past 30 days.

Eli Lilly currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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