5 Best Vaccine Stocks To Buy Now

4. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 70

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is a major pharmaceutical company based in the United States with over 100 years of history. The company has a diversified product portfolio and a strong track record of delivering shareholder value. As of October 28, the stock is offering a forward dividend yield of 1.10% and the company has free cash flows of $4.94 billion. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is ranked high among the best vaccine stocks to buy now.

This September, Morgan Stanley analyst Terence Flynn reiterated an Overweight rating and his $412 price target on Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY). On September 30, Argus analyst Jasper Hellweg raised his price target on Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) to $360 from $315 and reiterated a Buy rating on the shares.

At the end of Q2 2022, 70 hedge funds were long Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) and held stakes worth $6.71 billion. This is compared to 53 positions in the preceding quarter with stakes worth $5.07 billion. The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive. As of June 30, Fisher Asset Management is the most prominent shareholder in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) and has stakes worth $1.92 billion in the company.

Here is what Baron Funds had to say about Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in its third-quarter 2022 investor letter:

“In pharmaceuticals, our largest investment is in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY). Lilly’s new diabetes drug Mounjaro is off to a strong start. In addition, Mounjaro may be approved for obesity next year. In clinical trials, Mounjaro delivered up to 22.5% average weight loss in adults with obesity and has the potential to be a top-selling drug. Lilly also has a drug in development for Alzheimer’s disease in the same class as Lecanemab, a drug being developed by Biogen and Eisai that slowed the rate of cognitive decline in a late-stage clinical trial. Lilly is not facing any significant near-term patent expirations and we think the company should be able to grow revenue and earnings at attractive rates through the end of the decade and beyond.”