Jim Cramer’s Top 5 Stock Picks This Week

3. Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 102

Jim Cramer earlier this week said Eli Lilly And Co’s (NYSE:LLY) weight loss drug could be the best-selling drug of all time and could beat Novo Nordisk’s drug.  Cramer said the “Wall Street is way behind on this one.” Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY) shares have gained about 27% year to date through February 16.

As of the end of the third quarter of 2023, 102 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY). The biggest stake in Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY) is owned by Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management which owns a $2.4 billion stake in Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY).

Baron Health Care Fund stated the following regarding Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Stock selection was also positive in the sub-industry owing to strong gains from therapeutics-focused pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY). Lilly’s stock continued to outperform driven by strong sales of blockbuster diabetes medicine Mounjaro and ongoing enthusiasm surrounding the company’s obesity and diabetes franchises, particularly after Novo Nordisk released its SELECT trial results showing a 20% relative risk reduction in overweight patients with cardiovascular disease and no prior history of diabetes.

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells medicines in the categories of diabetes, oncology, neuroscience, and immunology, among other areas. Stock performance was strong due to strong third quarter sales of blockbuster diabetes medicine Mounjaro and ongoing enthusiasm surrounding the company’s obesity and diabetes franchises. We continue to think Lilly is well positioned to grow revenue and earnings at attractive rates through the end of the decade and beyond.

We own Eli Lilly and Company, which we believe will remain a leader in the GLP-1 medicine class with Mounjaro, Zepbound, and the company’s deep pipeline of next generation GLP-1 medicines.”