5 Best Big Pharma Stocks to Buy Now

In this article, we discuss the 5 best big pharma stocks to buy now. If you want to read our detailed analysis of these companies, go directly to the 10 Best Big Pharma Stocks to Buy Now.

5. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 64

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is an Indiana-based drug manufacturer and it ranks fifth on the list of 10 best big pharma stocks to buy now. The company manufactures and sells drugs to treat diabetes, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, bipolar disorder, depressive symptoms, and migraine. 

On August 30, Cowen analyst Steve Scala maintained an Outperform rating on Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) and increased his price target for the stock to $300 from $250.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) announced on September 21 that it has reached an agreement with the European Commission to distribute 220,000 doses of the COVID-19 medicines Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA).

The company’s second-quarter revenue came in at $6.74 billion, up 23% year over year, and beat revenue estimates by $150.73 million. The drugmaker recorded a 22% volume increase in the quarter.

At the end of the second quarter of 2021, 64 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $2.99 billion in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY), up from 55 in the previous quarter worth $2.55 billion.

Out of the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Washington-based hedge fund firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) with 6,010,313 shares worth more than $1.37 billion.

Baron Funds mentioned Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in its Q2 2021 investor letter:

“We started a position in Eli Lilly and Company, a large-cap pharmaceutical company. We think Lilly has a healthy base business with limited near-term patent expirations, a strong pipeline, and potential for significant margin expansion, which should translate to high single-digit revenue growth and mid-teens earnings growth over the next five years. Lilly’s pipeline includes donanemab, a potential blockbuster drug which the company is developing for Alzheimer’s disease and which recently received Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA.”