It has been active on the market since 1876

The American pharmaceutical corporation Eli Lilly and Company, headquartered in Indianapolis, operates in 18 countries and its products are distributed in approximately 125 countries. The company is known for its drugs for depression, but its primary source of revenue is diabetes drugs. Its pioneering achievements include the mass production of a polio vaccine, for example. Most recently, through its acquisition with Versanis, it will gain access to an experimental drug for obesity, which has become a significant problem in the world. In the US alone, more than two-thirds of the population is obese.

Acquisition for USD 1.93 billion

Eli Lilly and Company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Versanis, a privately held biotechnology firm, to strengthen its market presence in the obesity treatment space. Versanis is known for its experimental drug bimagrumab, which it licensed from Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis. This like differs from competing products in that it directly targets fat cells without suppressing appetite or causing muscle loss. As Eli Lilly is working on more weight loss products, through Versanis, it might be able to effectively cement its place among the leading manufacturers of this kind of products.

Eli Lilly is also about to acquire DICE

Eli Lilly and Company also announced the extension of the expiration date of its tender offer to acquire all of the common stock of DICE Therapeutics, Inc. for an aggregate purchase price of $48 per share.* The initial expiration date, set to expire on July 28, 2023, has been extended to August 8, 2023, unless extended or terminated earlier. The acquisition of the company is expected to close in Q3 2023, subject to standard closing conditions, including an antitrust review and tender of a majority of the outstanding shares. As of July 24, 2023, approximately 9,581,902 shares have been tendered, representing 20.05 percent of the issued and outstanding shares. The shares tendered in the previous tender offer do not require a re-tender or any further action in response to this extension.

Eli Lilly and Company stock overview

Since entering the stock market in 1983, Eli Lilly's stock has done exceptionally well, as the company has managed to generate 11,694 percent growth. Looking at five-year performance alone, the company's stock is up 344 percent. It seems that for the time being, the only way for the company's stock value to go was up, without a significant correction. However, there was also a period when the price went mostly sideways. The current value per share is close to the all-time high, which was $469 per share in June of this year. *

Eli Lilly's stock price movement over the past five years. (Source: Google Finance) *

Eli Lilly has seen good stock market performance thanks in part to constant innovation and new developments, and throughout the company's history it has more or less only gone up, which is a good sign of a stable company. * If Eli Lilly continues on this trend and does not slow down, it could produce positive results that will benefit it in the future.1 However, we all know how unpredictable the markets are, so it is important to approach stock purchases with the utmost caution, even though it may seem like a solid decision to do so.

Olivia Lacenova, Principal Analyst at Wonderinterest Trading Ltd.

* Past performance is no guarantee of future results

[1,] Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and current expectations, which may be inaccurate or based on the current economic environment, which may change. Such statements are not guarantees of future results. They involve risks and other uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements.