Eli Lilly shares close higher on Monday, company announces global licensing and research collaboration with Avidity Biosciences

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) announced on Monday a global licensing and research collaboration with Avidity Biosciences Inc, whose focus will be set on the discovery, development and commercialization of potential new medicines in immunology.

Eli Lilly shares closed higher for the fifth time in the past thirteen trading sessions in New York on Monday. The stock edged up 0.23% ($0.27) to $115.47, after touching an intraday low at $113.76, or a price level not seen since January 28th ($113.54).

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company have retreated 0.22% so far in 2019 compared with a 16.00% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Eli Lilly’s stock went up 37.01%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

Under the terms of the deal, Eli Lilly is to grant Avidity an upfront payment of $20 million. Avidity will also be able to earn up to $405 million per target for development, regulatory and commercialization milestones, the two companies said.

“We are excited to expand our oligonucleotide research and development efforts through this strategic collaboration with Avidity,” Andrew Adams, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer for RNA therapeutics at Eli Lilly, said in a statement.

“Their expertise in studying the combination of monoclonal antibodies and oligonucleotide-based therapies represent a promising avenue of research toward development of new RNA-based medicines.”

“This collaboration with Lilly provides an exceptional opportunity to leverage Aviditys proprietary AOC platform in order to generate new therapeutic targets in disease areas that have been challenging to pursue using oligonucleotide-based approaches,” Kent Hawryluk, Chief Business Officer at Avidity Biosciences, said.

“Lillys extensive research, development, regulatory, and commercial capabilities make them an ideal partner, and we look forward to a long and productive relationship,” Hawryluk added.

In accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Eli Lilly is to reflect the transaction in its reported financial results and guidance.

According to CNN Money, the 13 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Eli Lilly and Co’s stock price, have a median target of $129.00, with a high estimate of $145.00 and a low estimate of $93.00. The median estimate represents an 11.72% upside compared to the closing price of $115.47 on April 22nd.

The same media also reported that 9 out of 17 surveyed investment analysts had rated Eli Lilly and Co’s stock as “Hold”, while 7 – as “Buy”.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $118.09
R1 – $122.04
R2 – $128.88
R3 – $132.83
R4 – $136.78

S1 – $111.25
S2 – $107.30
S3 – $100.46
S4 – $93.62