MW These Eli Lilly executives have been scooping up stock after its big drop

By Emily Bary

Eli Lilly's weight-loss pill disappointed in a key trial, but CEO David Ricks and other insiders together bought nearly $3 million worth of stock in the aftermath of the selloff

Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks bought $1 million of his company's stock on Tuesday.

After Eli Lilly & Co. shares fell sharply in the wake of disappointing trial data for its weight-loss pill, several of its executives and board members saw an opportunity to buy.

Five Eli Lilly $(LLY)$ insiders purchased a combined $2.9 million in stock in recent days, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These included David Ricks, the pharmaceutical company's chief executive, who bought just over $1 million of shares on Tuesday.

Daniel Skovronsky, the company's chief scientific officer, joined him with a Tuesday purchase of 1,000 shares worth about $634,400. Erik Frywald, the CEO of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. $(IFF)$ and a member of the Lilly board, scooped up about $1 million in stock on Tuesday as well. Fellow board member and Centerbridge Partners managing director Gabrielle Sulzberger added a roughly $75,000 purchase of her own.

Jamere Jackson, the chief financial officer of AutoZone Inc. $(AZO)$ and another Lilly board member, led the charge with a $128,000 purchase of stock made on Friday and disclosed in a filing that day.

Eli Lilly didn't immediately respond to a MarketWatch request for comment on behalf of the company or the executives and board members.

Wall Street often pays attention to insider purchases because they can be a sign of management's conviction in the company's story when executives put their money where their mouths are in buying up stock.

The recent insider-buying action comes after Eli Lilly shares slid 14% on Thursday upon disclosure of late-stage trial data that showed the company's weight-loss pill didn't achieve the results Wall Street was hoping for. The stock ended up registering its worst one-day percentage decline in 26 years before falling again on Friday and then registering gains in each of the past two sessions.

See also: Eli Lilly's stock suffers worst drop in 26 days after its weight-loss pill didn't work so well

While some analysts thought the selloff was too extreme, others worried that the latest data would dent the company's opportunities.

Eli Lilly's stock is up fractionally in Tuesday's extended session.

-Emily Bary

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August 12, 2025 19:07 ET (23:07 GMT)

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