The latest quarterly numbers of more than $630 billion-cost pill factory on February 6 were amazing and promising. Sales of Mounjaro, its popular diabetes drug, which has an approved active ingredient for weight loss, went 24% above consensus estimates, and it is still reportedly in short supply. One more sister drug Zepbound surpassed market expectations by nearly 36%. Besides, Eli Lilly provided the crowd with a very bright guidance for 2024, when its CEOs bravely projected 4% increase in total revenue to the average level of expert forecast range.

That's all going on after increasing total revenue by 45% over 5 years, while earnings per share almost doubled, which is impressive! However, Eli Lilly's market value has become 5.5 times more massive for the same period of fast growth, including a double jump from a $310-365 range in the beginning of 2023 to a new $710-750 height this week.

Some big investment houses, including Jefferies, immediately gave this company another portion of rating upgrades while raising their price targets above $800 one day after the price soared above $700 for the first time in history. Yet, actually the most powerful wave of profit taking covered the rally on its highest point, as so many traders began to sell-off the stock without even waiting for regular trading hours, when they saw it approaching $750 during the pre-market. This fast process led the price back to a $690-710 area to form a temporary technical support.

Since we have been committed to long positioning at Eli Lilly since last summer, especially when its share price soared from $454 to $521 during one trading session on August 8, we may feel that the last year was a year of buying hopes. Yet, now hopes mostly become facts, and so it looks like a proper time to gather money stones after months of casting them away. Also based on money management principles, we would judge any price upticks to $710-720 or above as a good chance to claim the previously invested money back, for not being branded as too greedy and straight.