Why Eli Lilly Stock Jumped to a Record High on Tuesday

Eli Lilly (LLY) stock jumped to a record high on Tuesday after clinical trial results showed tirzepatide—the active ingredient in Lilly’s injectable weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro—lowered patients’ risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 94%.

The three-year study of patients with prediabetes and either obesity or overweight also found that those who received tirzepatide lost 22.9% of their body weight on average, compared with 2.1% for patients treated with a placebo. 

“Obesity is a chronic disease that puts nearly 900 million adults worldwide at an increased risk of other complications such as type 2 diabetes,” said Jeff Emmick, senior vice president of product development at Lilly.

Zepbound, Mounjaro Sales Soaring

The study adds to the growing list of benefits offered by tirzepatide and other GLP-1 receptor agonists, including reducing the risk of heart failure and treating sleep apnea.

Earlier this month, Eli Lilly reported Mounjaro sales more than tripled year-over-year to $3.09 billion in the second quarter. Zepbound sales exceeded $1 billion in just its second full quarter since being approved by the Food and Drug Administration in November.

Shares of Eli Lilly jumped 5% to an all-time high of $967 Tuesday morning, before paring gains to trade about 3% higher recently. The stock has risen more than 60% this year compared with a 17% gain for the S&P 500.