From Zepbound to Foundayo: Lilly's Latest Results Support Oral GLP-1 Outlook

Summary

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company NYSE: LLY, the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical stock, started 2026 in a bad way. Near the end of April, LLY shares had fallen as much as 20%. However, the stock has rebounded mightily since then. Eli Lilly and Company TodayLLYEli Lilly and Company$1,015.46 -5.95 (-0.58%) As of 03:46 PM Eastern This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.52-Week Range$623.78▼$1,133.95Dividend Yield0.68%P/E Ratio36.06Price Target$1,218.33 Lilly’s highly impressive earnings report kicked off the rally, with shares surging nearly 10% in one day. Lilly has continued to trudge higher, now down only around 5% in 2026.Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts:Sign Up One event that recently helped Lilly's stock move up was the latest results surrounding its oral GLP-1 medication Foundayo. While Foundayo is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the need to continue testing does not stop there. By generating more robust and a wider variety of data on the medication, Lilly can improve the chances of doctors prescribing it. Lilly’s latest results support this all-important goal. Foundayo’s 2-Pronged Attack: Needle Fear Patients and Maintenance PatientsThe trial in question focuses on weight-loss maintenance—helping patients keep lost weight off after they stop taking high-dose GLP-1s. For Lilly, this is part of a two-pronged strategy to generate demand for Foundayo. The first part is based on attracting completely new patients. Researchers estimate that up to 25% of U.S. adults have a fear of needles, preventing certain patients who want to lose weight from taking injectable GLP-1s. Through pill-based medications, Lilly can unlock demand from this patient group. However, Lilly is falling behind Novo Nordisk A/S NYSE: NVO on oral uptake, as Novo received approval for its oral weight-loss drug several months earlier. Novo’s pill has also demonstrated efficacy that moderately surpasses Foundayo. Novo notes an average weight loss of ...