Earnings Preview: Eli Lilly & Co.

Eli Lilly (LLY) is expected to report Q2 earnings before market open Thursday, July 24, with a conference call scheduled for 9:00 am ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for a profit of 99c on revenue of $5.03B. The consensus range is 97c to $1.02 for EPS, and revenue of $4.91B to $5.20B, according to First Call. For Q1, Lilly reported Q1 EPS ex-items 92c vs. consensus of 96c.

Analyst Views

Positive drivers for this quarter could include strong sales of Cymbalta and Cialis. Negative drivers this quarter might include lower YoY sales of Zyprexa and generic competition. On June 4, Cowen upgraded Lilly to Outperform from Neutral based on increased confidence that Effient will be approved. The firm sees a 70% chance of approval. On July 18, Citigroup initiated Lilly with a Hold and a price target of $52. Citigroup finds the risk-reward attractive but believes the company's regulatory execution needs to improve.

Comments

[Daniel Haszard:]

Zyprexa has generated a lot of bad press for Eli Lilly and they still have unresolved Zyprexa settlement claims.
Eli Lilly is 'reaping the whirlwind' for aggressive marketing of Zyprexa that has caused suffering and deaths.


Abilify is now the most popular anti-psychotic favored among psychiatrist. What the managers at Eli Lilly should consider is how Zyprexa is being avoided by doctors they aren't prescribing it for new patients at all anymore.
--
Daniel Haszard 4 year Zyprexa patient who got diabetes from it.

2008 Jul 24 02:22 PM