As reported earlier, BMO Capital analyst Alex Arfaei upgraded Eli Lilly to Market Perform from Underperform and raised his price target to $79 from $74. The analyst believes that his previously expressed concerns around the downside risks for Humalog, cautious outlook for Vernezio, and uncertainty around Bari are "mostly reflected" in the stock, with more balance in risk-reward going forward. While he anticipates 2018 to be volatile as maturing diabetes franchise constrains the company's growth plans, Arfaei also sees some tailwinds for Eli Lilly around continued strong growth of Trulicity, further growth of Taltz, Jardiance, and Basglar, as well as potential divestiture of Elanco.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here