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Is Eli Lilly Stock Heading for $1,000?

www.nasdaq.com · May 4, 2026 · 21:50

Written by David Jagielski for The Motley Fool->

The consensus analyst price target suggests Eli Lilly's stock will fly past $1,000 in the near future.

The stock's price-to-earnings multiple is well below what it has averaged over the past five years.

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) just delivered another fantastic quarter, showcasing its impressive growth prospects. The company has been a leader in the growing GLP-1 drug market, with fantastic assets in Mounjaro and Zepbound driving much of its growth in recent years.

However, despite its strong growth, the stock has given back gains in recent months and is down from the highs of more than $1,100 that it reached earlier in the year. On Monday, it was trading at around $960. In light of its strong Q1 results, can it get back to $1,000 and potentially hit new highs?

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Analyst projections can be useful indicators of the level of bullishness behind a stock. Currently, the consensus analyst price target for Eli Lilly's stock is around $1,215, which implies an upside of approximately 26% for investors who buy it today. And out of 30 analysts, an overwhelming 25 of them rate the stock as a buy. Price targets can change over time, but even among analysts who have been lowering their targets for Eli Lilly recently, many of them still see the healthcare stock rising to well over $1,000.

Price targets focus on where analysts think a stock may go in the short term (typically the next 12 months or so). For long-term investors who are willing to hang on longer than that, the upside can, of course, be far more significant than that.

What works in the stock's favor these days is that its valuation looks far more attractive than it has been in recent years. For a top growth stock, it can be justifiable to pay a premium, and the good news for investors is that the premium has been coming down for Eli Lilly this year. As its share price has been coming down and as earnings have been rising, the stock has become much cheaper in the process.

Eli Lilly's price-to-earnings multiple may not be dirt cheap, but it's not bad at all for a company that generated nearly 60% revenue growth in its most recent quarter. And within a span of just three years, the company has grown its sales from $28.5 billion in 2022 to $65.2 billion in 2025. Its profits have also more than tripled during that stretch, to $20.6 billion.

With excellent fundamentals and growth prospects, I wouldn't be surprised for Eli Lilly's stock to rally this year and to surge past the $1,000 mark in the near term. And in the long run, it can rise far higher than that, which is why I believe it's an excellent long-term holding.

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David Jagielski, CPA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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