** Eli Lilly LLY.N stock climbing 0.1% on Mon after announcing it will ship higher doses of weight-loss drug Zepbound to cash-paying customers starting early Aug

** The modest gain in LLY lagged a ~1% rally in the S&P 500 .SPX, and outperformed a 0.32% dip in the S&P 500 healthcare sector index .SPXHC

** Co to offer 12.5 mg and 15 mg doses on its website for $499/month or less, regardless of insurance status; doctors can prescribe from July 7

** Move aims to counter competition from compounded versions and cheaper copies in the $150 bln obesity drug market

** LLY's stock up about 6% YTD, outperforming S&P 500's ~3% rise

** Stock recently traded at 32x expected earnings, just below its 5-year avg forward PE of 35

** LLY's stock is about 16% below its 52-week intraday high of $972.24 reached on Aug. 27, 2024

(Reporting by Noel Randewich)

((noel.randewich@thomsonreuters.com))