Eli Lilly (LLY) is a company most people know for its weight loss drugs. The company is very popular in the industry, thanks to Zepbound and Mounjaro. However, Lilly is not limited to weight-loss drugs.
The company develops and sells prescription medicines for diabetes, obesity, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and brain conditions. Because of that wide mix of products, the company has a market value of nearly $1.29 trillion.
Bank of America is now telling investors to look beyond Lilly’s weight loss drugs for the next move to take the stock higher. In a BofA report shared with me, titled “LLY R&D Day: 5 areas of focus to diversify story away from obesity,” the bank raised its price target on Lilly for the second time after it reported strong third-quarter earnings.
The bank’s reason for the second raise goes beyond its current weight-loss drugs. The analyst’s call also came about a month before Lilly hosts a key investor meeting that could shape how the stock trades in 2027.
Why Bank of America just raised Eli Lilly’s price target
BofA Securities analyst Jason Gerberry raised his price objective on Eli Lilly to $1,557 from $1,497 on Nov. 5 while keeping his Buy rating. Gerberry is a managing director at BofA Securities who has covered large drug companies for over a decade.
His new target is based on an earnings multiple of 26 times his 2028 forecast. Before that, it was 25 times.
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Gerberry said the higher multiple reflects “LLY’s superior growth profile and execution.” He believes this because the company’s sales are growing faster than its peers and its drugs are reaching patients on schedule.
Based on BofA’s new target, the stock still has decent room to grow. The bank’s new target is about 14% above the stock’s Nov. 6 close, which was near $1,368.
Looking past Zepbound ahead of Lilly’s December R&D Day
What really caught my attention in Gerberry’s note is that his reason for the target increase looks almost entirely past obesity. Meanwhile, weight loss drugs are still Lilly’s biggest source of growth. Gerberry’s view is that the obesity business is already priced into the company’s share price.
That’s why he focused on the roughly 20 non-obesity drug candidates Lilly has in mid- to late-stage testing. These drug candidates have various medical targets, and many of them will be discussed at Lilly’s Innovation Day 2026 on Dec. 7.
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Lilly’s management has been making the same point that Gerberry is supporting.
“With three-fourths of our clinical pipeline focused on diseases outside of obesity, we’re developing new medicines that have the potential to impact a broad range of disease to deliver diversified and durable growth,” CEO David Ricks said in the company’s Q3 earnings call.
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Gerberry pointed to five non-obesity programs that are especially worth watching. The first is brenipatide, a drug Lilly is testing in about 10 different conditions.
BofA believes the drug could eventually generate $10 to $20 billion in peak annual sales if the trials succeed. Wall Street expects only $2 to $3 billion, so there’s a sizable gap.
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Another two programs came through Lilly’s acquisitions. One is from the $6.3 billion acquisition of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in March. The other is from its AtaiBeckley Inc. acquisition in the third quarter.
Centessa’s lead drug, Cleminorexton, performed well in early narcolepsy trials, while the AtaiBeckley program is a psychedelic-based treatment for depression.
Gerberry thinks the two of them could bring in $5 to $15 billion in peak sales combined if they clear late-stage testing.
The remaining two programs on the list are late-stage results for breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Their trials are expected in 2027.
What everyday investors should keep in mind
Investors should note that none of these non-obesity drug programs are guaranteed to succeed yet. They are still in the trial stage, and it is normal for some mid-stage results to look promising at first but produce weaker outcomes later.
Investors should also note that Lilly spent more than $4 billion in the third quarter alone. The money was spent on research charges related to its recent acquisitions.
It’s clear that Lilly’s growth involves more than just weight-loss drugs. However, that growth still depends on the company’s execution over the next 12 to 18 months.
For clearer insight, investors should pay attention to how Lilly’s management frames the non-obesity pipeline on Dec. 7.
