Eli Lilly (LLY) Gains Support From Daiwa and Goldman Sachs in Back-to-Back Calls

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is included among the 12 Best Long Term US Stocks to Buy Now.

On December 16, Daiwa analyst Narumi Nakagiri upgraded Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) to Buy from Neutral and set a $1,230 price target on the stock.

That move followed a similar call from Goldman Sachs earlier. On December 15, Goldman raised its price target on Eli Lilly to $1,145 from $951 and kept a Buy rating.

Momentum around Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) weight-loss pipeline continues to build. A recent Financial Times report said the company’s latest obesity drug helped patients shed as much as 29% of their body weight in clinical trials, adding to the strength of Lilly’s fast-growing obesity business.

Lilly shared more details on December 11. The drug, retatrutide, showed benefits beyond weight loss. One in eight patients reported being free from knee pain by the end of the trial. The late-stage study included patients with both obesity and osteoarthritis. After 68 weeks, participants lost an average of 28.7% of their body weight. Those on a placebo lost about 2.1%.

The company said some participants exited the trial because the weight loss was too rapid. Lilly expects to release additional trial data for retatrutide in 2026.

Retatrutide is a next-generation GLP-1 therapy. Drugs in this class, including Zepbound, have transformed Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)’s growth profile and helped push the company past the $1tn market value mark, even if briefly.

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Disclosure: None.