NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of drug manufacturer Eli Lilly (LLY) are rising 5.03% to $86.17 in late-afternoon trading on Tuesday, after an upgrade to "overweight" from "equal weight" at Barclays today.
The firm raised its price target to $95 from $75 on the stock.
Innovation within the U.S. biopharmaceuticals sector should overshadow political debates about pricing policies during the 2016 election, Barclays said in a note.
"We view [political debates] more as election season rhetoric than a push toward near-term structural changes," the firm added.
Eli Lilly stock will likely continue to outperform, depending on "good execution" of stomach cancer treatment Cyramza and diabetes drug Jardiance, the firm mentioned.
The company could improve the pace of its pipeline deals, Barclays noted.
Insight from TheStreet's Research Team
Eli Lilly is a core holding of Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Here's a snippet of what Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager and Jack Mohr, Director of Research - Action Alerts PLUS wrote in a recent post:
While we do not like to overreact to a single day of trading, Barclays' endorsement of the company (and stock), which focuses on the same key points as our thesis, does provide another solidifying panel for the floor moving forward. On that note, we are pleased with our decisions to purchase the stock in the low $80s on three separate occasions.
After enduring the "YZ" years of 2011 to 2014 -- when Lilly lost exclusivity to many of its major patents and focused on spending cuts and employee restructuring to stay afloat while it invested in a growth pipeline -- LLY is now poised to breakout on its strengthening oncology and diabetes franchises, along with a budding immunology business (via positive results for its rheumatoid arthritis drug, Baricitinib).
- Jim Cramer and Jack Mohr, 'Eli Lilly Breakout Confirms Our Thesis' originally published 12/1/2015 on ActionAlertsPLUS.com.
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Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates LILLY (ELI) & CO as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:
We rate LILLY (ELI) & CO (LLY) a BUY. This is driven by several positive factors, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, increase in net income, expanding profit margins and notable return on equity. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: LLY