Yahoo Finance Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY): Jim Cramer’s Best Weight Loss Stock Pick for 2024
We recently published a list of the 10 Stocks to Buy and Sell Before the Third Quarter 2024 According to Jim Cramer. Since Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) ranks 2nd on the list, it deserves a deeper look.
Jim Cramer in a latest program discussed the changing consumer trends in the US, wondering whether the consumer is just “fed up” of paying high prices and becoming “frugal.” Cramer said this “frugal thesis” is not “obvious” but he has recognized this latest trend based on some new developments. Cramer named a few consumer companies that are benefitting from the changing consumer behavior because of their discounted price offerings. Cramer rejected the notion that dollar stores are cheap. He said these stores raise prices “aggressively” and calling them dollar stores has become a “misnomer.” The CNBC host said the consumers “want prices lower” and that’s why dollar store companies are getting crushed in the new environment.
Jim Cramer also said the “renting society” is winning the “owning society,” pointing to a new trend where consumers are renting boats instead of buying them to enjoy the experience without spending a fortune.
For this article we watched several latest programs of Jim Cramer aired on CNBC and picked some stocks he’s recommending investors to buy or sell. With each stock we have mentioned the number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY)
Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 109
When asked about Viking Therapeutics in a latest program, Cramer said he is a “LLY guy.”
“LLY is a huge position in the charitable trust and I am not going to deviate for a young company.”
Cramer also said that to “go up against LLY is very very hard.”
Jim Cramer has been recommending Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY) for the past several months amid the company’s strong foray into weight loss drugs and other growth catalysts.
Goldman Sachs recently said in a report that estimated global sales from next-gen obesity drugs could reach $130 billion in 2030, up from its previous estimate of $100 billion. Goldman Sachs highlighted that Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) and Novo Nordisk are expected to retain their “duopoly” in the market with an 80% market share through 2030.
Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) shares are trading at a P/E of 123, much higher than its 5-year average of 50 and industry median of 33. However, Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) blockbuster weight loss drugs like Mounjaro and Zepbound and their growth potential coupled with raging demand for weight loss drugs back this high valuation, according to several market analysts. Last month, Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) shares skyrocketed after its diabetes treatment Mufengda® (Tirzepatide Injection) got approval in China which is amongst the countries with the highest recorded cases of diabetes.
Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) is expected to see about 120% earnings growth this year and 40% earnings growth next year. Analysts at BofA see Eli Lilly & Co’s (NYSE:LLY) earnings more than doubling this year. The stock is trading at 43x its 2025 EPS estimate of $19.28 set by Wall Street. Eli Lilly’s revenue growth in 2025 could come in at 23.40%, based on data from Yahoo Finance. This high growth in earnings and revenue is more than enough to justify Eli Lilly & Co’s (NYSE:LLY) current stock price, given the company’s market-leading position in the weight loss market.
Baron Health Care Fund stated the following regarding Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells medicines in the categories of diabetes, oncology, neuroscience, and immunology, among other areas. Stock performance was strong due to robust fourth quarter sales of Mounjaro/ Zepbound, better-than-anticipated initial guidance for fiscal year 2024, and ongoing enthusiasm surrounding the company’s obesity and diabetes franchises. We continue to think Lilly is well positioned to grow revenue and earnings at attractive rates through the end of the decade and beyond.”
Overall, Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) ranks 2nd on Insider Monkey’s list titled 10 Stocks to Buy and Sell Before the Third Quarter 2024 According to Jim Cramer. While we acknowledge the potential of Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY), our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
