5. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
Year-to-Date Return as of September 9: 52.3%
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is an American pharmaceutical company, based in Indiana. The company manufactures and develops a wide range of medicines for serious ailments. The recent surge in optimism about the stock is mainly attributed to strong sales of three key products: Mounjaro, Zepbound, and Verzenio. Sales for the popular breast cancer medication Verzenio soared 44% in the second quarter of 2024. However, investors were even more enthusiastic about the performance of Mounjaro and Zepbound, which are used for diabetes treatment and weight loss. Since the start of 2024, the stock has gained over 52%, becoming one of the best unstoppable stocks that pay dividends.
In Q2 2024, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) reported revenue of $11.3 billion, which saw a 36% growth from the same period last year. The company increased its revenue forecast for the full year 2024 by $3 billion, now projecting a range between $45.4 billion and $46.6 billion. This upward revision was largely credited to the impressive performance of Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Baron Funds also appreciated the stock’s outperformance this year and highlighted this in its Q2 2024 investor letter. Here is what the firm said:
“Shares of global pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) increased on continued investor enthusiasm around GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and obesity. We remain shareholders. Lilly’s Mounjaro/Zepbound not only offers superb blood sugar control for diabetics but can drive 20%-plus weight loss and likely improve cardiovascular outcomes in both diabetic and non-diabetic obese patients. Lilly is developing next generation drugs, including retatrutide, which drives approximately 25% weight loss, and orforglipron, a daily pill that produces approximately 15% weight loss. In the U.S. alone, there are 32 million Type 2 diabetics and an additional 105 million obese patients who we estimate would qualify for GLP-1 drugs. Although supply and access are limited near term, we think GLP-1 drugs will become standard of care for both diabetes and obesity and will become a $150 billion-plus category. We see Lilly setting a high efficacy bar and capturing significant long-term market share. We think the adoption of GLP-1s will drive Lilly to triple total revenue by 2030.”
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is also a strong dividend company, having raised its dividends for 10 years consistently. Moreover, in the past five years, the company has raised its payouts by over 15%. It currently pays a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.57%, as of September 9.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) was a part of 100 hedge fund portfolios at the end of Q2 2024, down from 109 in the previous quarter, as per Insider Monkey’s database. The stakes held by these hedge funds have a total value of over $16 billion. Fisher Asset Management owned the largest stake in the company, worth over $4.4 billion.
