Leerink says that according to Eli Lilly, the spike in shares yesterday has no clear explanation. Leerink sees several potential explanations, including the company's presentation at a competitor conference, even though no statement was made about a potential animal health spinout, AAIC conference abstracts coming this weekend which could include an abstract on the EXPEDITION EXT study results, or activist/takeover speculation. The firm views the activist/takeover speculation as unlikely, and believes the most likely driver of the rally is the upcoming pipeline news flow. Leerink says the rally "looks questionable" if based purely on the upcoming AAIC abstracts. The firm keeps an Outperform rating on Lilly. The company last night told Bloomberg it has no plans to spin off its animal health unit. The stock is trading down 60c to $82.26 in the pre-market.