JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Stock

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) had its price target raised by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.17% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on ELAN. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Elanco Animal Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Elanco Animal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.89.

Elanco Animal Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELAN opened at $24.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 416.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $23.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.39. Elanco Animal Health has a 1-year low of $8.02 and a 1-year high of $26.08.

Insider Activity at Elanco Animal Health

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.30 per share, for a total transaction of $213,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 131,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,806,764.90. The trade was a 8.21% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons acquired 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $478,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 167,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,250. The trade was a 15.17% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 43,450 shares of company stock valued at $937,883 in the last ninety days. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 133.7% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Elanco Animal Health by 2,563.5% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Elanco Animal Health by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Elanco Animal Health in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Elanco Animal Health by 136.7% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.48% of the company’s stock.

Elanco Animal Health Company Profile

Elanco Animal Health Inc is a global leader in animal health dedicated to improving food and companion animal well-being. The company develops, manufactures and markets a range of products, including parasiticides, vaccines, antibiotics and feed additives designed to prevent and treat disease in livestock and pets. Elanco’s portfolio spans both food-producing animals—such as cattle, swine, poultry and aquaculture—and companion animals, with offerings that support parasite control, pain management and infectious disease prevention.

Originally founded as the animal health division of Eli Lilly and Company in the mid-20th century, Elanco was spun off into an independent publicly traded company in 2018.