** Shares of pharma giant Eli Lilly LLY.N rise 1.19% to $1,000.39 premarket

** Brokerage Citi raises PT to a street high of $1,500 from $1,250, maintains "buy" rating

** Citi expects 2026 sales of $1.8 billion, and peak sales of nearly $40 billion for the experimental oral obesity drug orforglipron

** Adds expectations have steadily risen given a competitive product profile, high consumer interest and broadening access

** The pill, which is a candidate for the FDA's fast-track vouchers to speed drug reviews, is expected to be approved by March 2026

** LLY and Novo Nordisk earlier this month struck a deal to slash prices of their weight-loss drugs in the U.S. for the government's Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as for cash payers

** Uptake is expected to accelerate much faster in earlier years from expanded coverage and lower price points, says brokerage

** LLY up ~28% YTD

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru)

((Sriparna.Roy@thomsonreuters.com;))