Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE:LLY) added 4.3% Wednesday, marking its strongest performance in two months, following Bank of America's designation of the drugmaker as its top pick among large cap biopharmaceutical companies for 2024.
Shares are up a further 0.6% in early Thursday trade.
Analysts anticipate sustained discussions on weight-loss drugs, particularly GLP-1s, with confidence in Lilly's ability to withstand competitive challenges due to the breadth of its portfolio.
Hence, the buy rating is maintained in recognition of the company's favorable positioning.
“We anticipate conversations around GLP-1 to continue unabated, with a heavy focus on Lilly’s Mounjaro/ Zepbound launch trends as well as competitive/ non-incretin readouts,” the analysts said in a note.
Bank of America also highlights Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) as another preferred large cap drugmaker.
“Merck is another one of our favorites given its top-tier revenue growth profile (anchored by Keytruda/ Gardasil) at a reasonable multiple (12x vs. peer average 14x) and multiple launches/ catalysts (sotatercept, HER3-DXd, TROP2) this year. Importantly, management still has time to execute on BD to diversify Keytruda risk,” the analysts said.
For large-cap Biotech, Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD) is a favorite as analysts expect its HIV/Oncology portfolios to have another year of solid performance.