Eli Lilly Investment Surges
SVB Wealth LLC Expands Eli Lilly Holdings by 13.1% in First Quarter
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Eli Lilly ($LLY) is on a full sprint. The drugmaker reported $19.8 billion in Q1 2026 revenue — a 56% jump from a year ago — while simultaneously closing a $7.8 billion acquisition and signing a new brain-disease research deal, according to MarketBeat. Institutional investors are taking notice, with several funds raising their stakes in the company during the first quarter.
SVB Wealth LLC boosted its Lilly position by 13.1% in Q1, bringing its total to 10,775 shares worth roughly $9.9 million, per SEC filings cited by MarketBeat. The move reflects a broader wave of institutional buying as Lilly pushes beyond its blockbuster weight-loss drugs into neuroscience.
Lilly Locks In Centessa Deal for $7.8 Billion
The High Court of Justice of England and Wales cleared Lilly's acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals on June 22, according to Globe Newswire. The deal values Centessa at $38.00 per share in cash, plus a $9.00 contingent value right, totaling roughly $7.8 billion. The acquisition is expected to close June 24, after which Centessa shares will be delisted from Nasdaq.
Centessa's main assets are orexin agonists — drugs that act like a "master switch" for sleep and wakefulness. They target patients with narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. Lilly's EVP Carole Ho said joining forces with Centessa means the company can now pursue orexin biology "at the speed and scale it deserves." Centessa CEO Mario Accardi called the court approval "tremendous validation" of their drug program.
BioArctic Brain Technology Deal Opens New Frontier
On the same day the Centessa deal was cleared, Lilly signed a separate research deal with Swedish biotech BioArctic AB. Lilly will pay $30 million upfront, with up to $770 million more in milestone payments, according to PR Newswire. The two companies will combine Lilly's drug candidate with BioArctic's BrainTransporter™ technology to treat neurodegenerative diseases.
BrainTransporter™ is designed to ferry drugs across the blood-brain barrier — a wall that blocks most medicines from reaching the brain. BioArctic CEO Gunilla Osswald said she is "excited that a large pharmaceutical company sees potential" in the technology. Lilly already has ties to BioArctic through Leqembi, an Alzheimer's drug the Swedish firm originally invented, per BioSpace.
Lilly's GLP-1 Dominance Funds Its Expansion Push
Lilly's weight-loss and diabetes drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound alone generated nearly $13 billion in Q1 2026 revenue. The company's non-GAAP earnings per share hit $8.55 — a 22.7% beat over analyst estimates — per Quiver Quantitative. CEO David Ricks said the company "delivered 56% revenue growth and raised full-year guidance by $2 billion."
But Lilly is not resting on its GLP-1 lead. The company faces rising competition from Novo Nordisk and cheaper compounded versions of its drugs, per BioPharma Dive. To protect its position, Lilly has committed over $27 billion to U.S. manufacturing and is diversifying hard into neuroscience through both acquisitions and research deals.
Wall Street Bullish, But Valuation Concerns Linger
Morgan Stanley reiterated an Overweight rating on $LLY with a price target of $1,344, arguing the market still underestimates Lilly's international growth potential. Bank of America raised its target to $1,251, pointing to a projected doubling of the GLP-1 market by 2033, per TheStreet. Lilly shares are up roughly 43.6% over the past 12 months.
Not everyone is fully convinced. Some analysts warn of "valuation fatigue," noting Lilly trades at about 30 times forward earnings — a multiple that leaves no room for error, per Sure Dividend. Flawless execution of its new neuroscience launches will be required to justify that price tag as competition heats up on multiple fronts.
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