Eli Lilly Stock Tanks: What’s Behind the 2025 Bloodbath?

Pharma giant Eli Lilly’s shares are getting crushed—here’s why Wall Street’s dumping them like a bad altcoin.

The catalyst? Rumor has it their blockbuster weight-loss drug faces FDA delays—because nothing says 'bullish' like regulatory purgatory.

Bigger picture: This isn’t just a Lilly problem. The entire sector’s sweating as patent cliffs loom and generics circle like vultures. Sound familiar, crypto bagholders?

One hedge fund manager quipped: 'At least with meme stocks, the pump-and-dump schedule is predictable.' Ouch.

Lilly's good news and bad news

To be clear, orforglipron didn't flop in its late-stage study. The company said that all three doses of the experimental drug met the primary end point of the trial as well as all key secondary end points. Patients receiving a 36 mg dose of orforglipron once daily experienced an average weight loss of 12.4% (27.3 pounds) versus a weight loss of 0.9% (2.2 pounds) for patients receiving a placebo.

One problem, though, was that some Wall Street analysts were expecting average weight loss of around 15%. Lilly also said that the overall patient discontinuation rate was 10.3% for the 36 mg dose versus only 2.6% for the placebo. This relatively high rate raised eyebrows for some physicians.

Image source: Getty Images.

However, CEO Dave Ricks said on CNBC Thursday morning that the company wasn't disappointed by orforglipron's late-stage results. An average weight loss in the ballpark of 12% with an oral drug could still be appealing to many patients and physicians.

Is Lilly stock a smart buy on the dip?

Sometimes stock sell-offs present great opportunities. I think that's the case now with Lilly. My view is that orforglipron will win regulatory approval and become another blockbuster drug for the company.