Decoding Eli Lilly's Options Activity: What's the Big Picture?

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Eli Lilly LLY.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with LLY, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 43 uncommon options trades for Eli Lilly.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 27% bullish and 53%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 23 are puts, for a total amount of $843,905, and 20 are calls, for a total amount of $1,932,867.

What's The Price Target?

Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $560.0 to $1400.0 for Eli Lilly over the last 3 months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Eli Lilly's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Eli Lilly's significant trades, within a strike price range of $560.0 to $1400.0, over the past month.

Eli Lilly 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Options Call Chart

Significant Options Trades Detected:

Symbol	PUT/CALL	Trade Type	Sentiment	Exp. Date	Ask	Bid	Price	Strike Price	Total Trade Price	Open Interest	Volume
LLY	CALL	SWEEP	NEUTRAL	09/20/24	$138.15	$132.45	$135.86	$820.00	$678.0K	315	0
LLY	CALL	TRADE	BEARISH	01/17/25	$191.75	$188.0	$188.98	$790.00	$188.9K	486	10
LLY	CALL	TRADE	NEUTRAL	12/19/25	$146.0	$139.05	$142.55	$1000.00	$142.5K	77	10
LLY	CALL	TRADE	BEARISH	01/17/25	$411.8	$406.6	$407.65	$560.00	$122.2K	306	3
LLY	CALL	TRADE	NEUTRAL	10/18/24	$39.3	$38.05	$38.57	$950.00	$115.7K	165	16

About Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly is a drug firm with a focus on neuroscience, cardiometabolic, cancer, and immunology. Lilly's key products include Verzenio for cancer; Mounjaro, Zepbound, Jardiance, Trulicity, Humalog, and Humulin for cardiometabolic; and Taltz and Olumiant for immunology.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Eli Lilly, we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Eli Lilly's Current Market Status

With a volume of 506,000, the price of LLY is up 0.22% at $951.0.
RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought.
Next earnings are expected to be released in 63 days.

Expert Opinions on Eli Lilly

Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $998.0.

An analyst from Deutsche Bank upgraded its action to Buy with a price target of $1025.
An analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald has revised its rating downward to Overweight, adjusting the price target to $885.
An analyst from Guggenheim persists with their Buy rating on Eli Lilly, maintaining a target price of $1030.
An analyst from Berenberg has decided to maintain their Buy rating on Eli Lilly, which currently sits at a price target of $1050.
An analyst from Wells Fargo persists with their Overweight rating on Eli Lilly, maintaining a target price of $1000.

Trading options involves greater risks but also offers the potential for higher profits. Savvy traders mitigate these risks through ongoing education, strategic trade adjustments, utilizing various indicators, and staying attuned to market dynamics. Keep up with the latest options trades for Eli Lilly with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts.

LLYEli Lilly and Co

$844.00-3.03%

Overview Rating:

Speculative

100

0100