Eli Lilly And Company Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (LLY)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, increase in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, attractive valuation levels and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Investors have apparently begun to recognize positive factors similar to those we have mentioned in this report, including earnings growth. This has helped drive up the company's shares by a sharp 27.12% over the past year, a rise that has exceeded that of the S&P 500 Index. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, LLY should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Pharmaceuticals industry average. The net income increased by 7.3% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $1,236.30 million to $1,326.60 million.
• The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.34, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. To add to this, LLY has a quick ratio of 1.54, which demonstrates the ability of the company to cover short-term liquidity needs.
• The gross profit margin for LILLY (ELI) & CO is currently very high, coming in at 84.70%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 24.37% is above that of the industry average.

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceutical products worldwide. Eli Lilly and has a market cap of $56.86 billion and is part of the health care sector and drugs industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 13.3, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 17.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Eli Lilly and Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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For more information on Eli Lilly and Company click any of the following:

• Eli Lilly and Company Stock Price

• Eli Lilly and Company Analyst Ratings

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• Eli Lilly and Company Ratio Comparison

• Eli Lilly and Company Growth Rates

• Eli Lilly and Company Balance Sheet

• Eli Lilly and Company Cash Flow

• Eli Lilly and Company Income Statement