By Mackenzie Tatananni

A nonprofit founded by members of the Lilly family has been unloading Eli Lilly stock nearly every day since the start of the month.

Of the first six trading days in October, the Lilly Endowment has made sales on five of them. The most recent transaction came on Oct. 7, when the Lilly Endowment sold 26,795 shares of common stock for an average of $848 each, or $22.7 million in total, according to a Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Following that sale, the foundation directly owned 94.6 million shares, which were valued at more than $80 billion based on Wednesday's closing price of $845.72.

On Oct. 6, Lilly Endowment unloaded an additional 161,183 shares in a series of eight transactions totaling more than $137 million. The fund has been on a selling spree as of late. Last week, Lilly Endowment sold a combined 656,015 shares in the period spanning Oct. 1 to Oct. 3.

Lilly Endowment didn't respond to a request for comment regarding the latest transactions.

The endowment is a private, tax-exempt foundation that was established in 1937 through gifts of Eli Lilly stock. Since then, it has grown into one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations, and it remains a major shareholder whose assets consist primarily of Lilly stock.

The drug company has been in the news as of late, mostly in relation to the Trump administration's pharmaceutical tariffs, which are set to be levied against drugs manufactured outside the U.S. with the exception of generics.

Lilly is likely immune due to its domestic manufacturing footprint. Despite Trump's threats, Lilly has also been expanding internationally. The drugmaker said Monday that it planned to invest $1 billion in India to increase production in the country.

The company is locked in a bitter race with Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk to snap up share in the market for weight-loss drugs. Lilly is the developer of tirzepatide, which is marketed as Mounjaro for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for chronic weight management.

Shares of the pharmaceutical giant are up 9.6% this year, lagging behind a 15% gain for the S&P 500. The stock's performance has varied versus peers. Lilly has fallen behind Johnson & Johnson, which is up 31%, but has outperformed Pfizer, which is down 3.2%.

U.S.-listed shares of Novo, meanwhile, have slumped 31% this year. The iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals exchange-traded fund, which counts Lilly as its largest holding, has jumped 16% over the same period.

Inside Scoop is a regular Barron's feature covering stock transactions by corporate executives and board members -- so-called insiders -- as well as large shareholders, politicians, and other prominent figures. Due to their insider status, these investors are required to disclose stock trades with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other regulatory groups.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

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October 10, 2025 21:30 ET (01:30 GMT)

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