Here's Why Eli Lilly (LLY) is Surging

Hardman Johnston Global Advisors, an investment management company, released its “Hardman Johnston Global Equity Strategy” investor letter for the fourth quarter of 2025. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Global equity markets delivered robust results in the quarter, backed by easing inflation trends and strong economic data. The Hardman Johnston Global Equity Strategy returned 2.91%, net of fees, compared to the MSCI AC World Net Index’s 3.29% gain. The Financials and Consumer Staples sectors contributed to the performance, while the Industrials and Consumer Discretionary sectors detracted from relative performance. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Hardman Johnston Global Equity Strategy highlighted Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) as one of its leading contributors. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The one-month return of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) was -3.27%, and its shares gained 29.28% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 27, 2026, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) stock closed at $1,039.51 per share, with a market capitalization of $931.876 billion.

Hardman Johnston Global Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:

"The top individual contributors to relative performance during the quarter were Standard Chartered PLC, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) and Hitachi, Ltd. Eli Lilly announced a deal with the U.S. administration that includes a three-year exemption from tariffs and the sale of GLP-1 therapies through government channels at discounted prices. Access to these channels significantly expands the addressable patient population and supports meaningful volume growth. Strong operating results and an upgraded 2025 outlook were driven by continued momentum from Mounjaro and Zepbound. Eli Lilly continues to gain share from Novo Nordisk across both diabetes and obesity markets, with prescription trends for both products remaining robust. Orforglipron (oral GLP-1) approval and commercial launch anticipated in 2026. This is likely the most watched commercial launch of all time with extremely high expectations."

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is in 21st position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 114 hedge fund portfolios held Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) at the end of the third quarter, compared to 119 in the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2025, Eli Lilly and Company’s (NYSE:LLY) revenue grew 54% compared to the same period last year. While we acknowledge the potential of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) and shared the list of best US stocks to buy and hold in 2026. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.