New York, February 24, 2026, 18:26 (EST) — After-hours
- LLY closed down 1.6% and was little changed after the bell
- FDA cleared a four-dose Zepbound “KwikPen” that delivers a month of shots in one device
- Traders weighed fresh signals on obesity-drug pricing and rivalry with Novo Nordisk
Eli Lilly and Company shares slipped 1.6% on Tuesday to $1,042.15 and were up 0.1% after hours at $1,043, cooling after a sharp swing in the past two sessions. The stock ranged from $1,024.08 to $1,058.90 during regular trade. (Investing)
The moves matter because Lilly’s obesity franchise has become the stock’s main engine, and the market is now trading it on smaller signals — a new device, a new trial chart, a new pricing headline.
It is not just about demand. Investors are watching what happens to prices and reimbursement in the U.S., where the sticker price can steer rebates and shape what insured patients pay out of pocket.
Lilly said on Monday it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to launch a four-dose KwikPen for its weight-loss drug Zepbound, which delivers a full month of treatment in one device. The KwikPen will start at $299 per month for cash-paying customers at the 2.5-milligram dose and will be available in six dose strengths, Lilly said, while Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy has been sold as a single-dose weekly pen in the U.S. (Reuters)
The stock had surged a day earlier after investors focused on rival Novo’s pipeline stumble. Novo on Monday unveiled late-stage trial data for its next-generation obesity drug CagriSema showing 23% weight loss over 84 weeks, short of the 25.5% reported for Lilly’s tirzepatide in the comparison, and Novo shares dropped sharply while Lilly climbed about 5%. “They literally ran a trial that said that Lilly’s product is better,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said, and Deutsche Bank analysts wrote the market was “likely to coalesce around Lilly’s portfolio”; Lilly expects U.S. approval for its rival weight-loss pill in April. (Reuters)
Then came the price tape. Novo said on Tuesday it will cut U.S. list prices for Ozempic and Wegovy by up to 50% to $675 a month from Jan. 1, 2027, timed with new Medicare pricing, and said the change would not affect its direct-to-patient self-pay prices. “The new $675 list price is a proactive move, specifically designed to help patients whose out-of-pocket costs are linked to list price,” Jamey Millar, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president of U.S. operations, said; Citi analyst Geoffrey Meacham said the cut would likely help only a small slice of new scripts versus cash-pay channels — patients paying out of pocket — while Bernstein’s Courtney Breen said it was not the start of a price war, even as compounded copies sold by telehealth firms such as Hims & Hers add pressure. (Reuters)
For Lilly, that leaves two narratives on the screen at once. Better trial performance and a more convenient pen support share gains, but a rival’s lower sticker price is a reminder that the fight is shifting toward affordability.
Zepbound and Mounjaro are based on tirzepatide, which targets hormones linked to appetite and blood sugar. Wegovy and Ozempic use semaglutide; both sit in the GLP-1 class, diabetes medicines that also drive weight loss.
But the downside case is easy to sketch. If list-price cuts pull rebates lower across the category, or if payers squeeze harder as competition expands, the stocks can re-rate quickly even when prescription trends look strong.
Next up, traders are watching the FDA decision window for Lilly’s obesity pill expected in April, plus early signs on how fast the multi-dose Zepbound pen moves into the cash-pay channel. Any new hints on how pricing resets ripple into 2027 will keep the tape jumpy.
