Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) Price Target Raised to $28.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Elanco Animal Health (NYSE:ELAN) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.70% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Elanco Animal Health in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Elanco Animal Health from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Piper Sandler upgraded Elanco Animal Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Elanco Animal Health from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Elanco Animal Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Elanco Animal Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.89.

Elanco Animal Health Price Performance

ELAN traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $24.85. 740,716 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,532,686. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.29. Elanco Animal Health has a 52-week low of $8.02 and a 52-week high of $26.08. The company has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 414.82, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey N. Simmons purchased 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.75 per share, for a total transaction of $478,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly 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. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert M. Vanhimbergen acquired 6,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.64 per share, with a total value of $150,398.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 124,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,688,402.12. The trade was a 5.93% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 43,450 shares of company stock worth $937,883 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elanco Animal Health

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

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.