Jim Cramer’s Game Plan for This Week: 16 Stocks in Focus

10. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 115

Cramer commented on Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY), which was part of his game plan for this week, as he said:

“Now we’ve got some healthcare, some issues to talk about on Thursday, that’s right, and these are anything but common, steady healthcare companies. We’ve got Eli Lilly that’s riding the wave of GLP-1 success…. Lilly’s last report laid an egg. They did it right on our show, unfortunately. I’m counting on this one being better, which is why we continue to own it for the Charitable Trust.”

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) specializes in researching, developing, and marketing a variety of pharmaceutical products, including treatments for diabetes, cancer, autoimmune conditions, pain, and migraines. RiverPark Advisors stated the following regarding the company in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY): LLY was a top detractor in the fourth quarter following a rare revenue miss in the company’s 3Q update. The greater than $1 billion miss in the tirzepatide complex (Mounjaro/Zepbound) was caused by a combination of factors, including wholesaler stocking patterns (2Q inventory build, 3Q sell through), refrigerated supply chain constraints, timing of the company’s direct-to-consumer efforts, and the pace of international market launches. We believe the diabetes/obesity/weight-loss market is enormous and that current GLP-1 drugs, though no longer supply constrained, are greatly in demand. We are confident that LLY’s recent sales shortfall was supply chain-related and that the company’s tirzepatide franchise growth will soon reaccelerate.

LLY discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets pharmaceutical products. The company manufactures and distributes products through facilities in the United States and seven other countries and sells into 110 countries. The company has a broad and deep portfolio of products including a focus on diabetes, oncology, immunology and neuroscience. More recently, LLY’s GLP-1 diabetes drug Mounjaro and obesity drug Zepbound, have delivered strong revenue growth, and investors are optimistic that the company’s recently approved Alzheimer drug, Kisunla, will add to that growth.

LLY has a stable portfolio of franchise products, which enables it to invest heavily in its product pipeline. We believe that this combination of franchise and growth products will drive high teens revenue growth and a four-fold increase in free cash flow in the next five years.”