Eli Lilly’s (NYSE: LLY)<\/a> share price jumped 39% in 2025, driven by investors eager to benefit from the success of the company’s GLP-1 drugs, Mounjaro (for diabetes) and Zepbound (for weight loss). That said, the company’s position at the top of the GLP-1 heap isn’t guaranteed, with Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO)<\/a> beating Eli Lilly to market with a GLP-1 pill. If you are looking at Eli Lilly, you might want to consider a pharmaceutical stock like Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)<\/a>, which is relatively unloved right now, instead. Here’s why.<\/p>\n Eli Lilly won’t always be on top<\/p>\n The pharmaceutical sector is highly competitive and driven by innovation. GLP-1 weight loss drugs are a perfect example<\/a>. Novo Nordisk was first to market with a GLP-1 shot. Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 shots were better received by the market and quickly became the leading options. In early 2026, however, Novo Nordisk was first to market with a GLP-1 pill, which could give it a chance to win back market share. Eli Lilly plans to bring out its own pill, so Novo Nordisk’s advantage could be short-lived.<\/p>\n Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n Image source: Getty Images.<\/p>\n That said, after a strong price advance driven by the excitement around GLP-1 drugs, Eli Lilly’s valuation seems stretched. The stock’s price-to-earnings ratio is a lofty 50. For comparison, the S&P 500 index, which is trading near all-time highs, has a P\/E of 28. If valuation matters to you<\/a>, you’ll probably be better off with a competitor like Pfizer, which is relatively unloved.<\/p>\n Pfizer is playing catch-up<\/p>\n Pfizer’s internally developed GLP-1 drug didn’t pan out and had to be abandoned. That’s bad and helps explain why investors have been less than positive about the company’s future, noting that its P\/E ratio is just 15. However, Pfizer has a long and successful history in the drug sector. It may not be the most innovative company right now, but history suggests it will, eventually, develop new and exciting blockbuster drugs.<\/p>\n Notably, its GLP-1 setback was quickly followed up by the acquisition of a company with a promising GLP-1 pipeline and a partnership to distribute a Chinese company’s GLP-1 pill if it is approved. In other words, Pfizer isn’t giving up; it is adjusting just like it always has.<\/p>\n If you don’t mind a turnaround story<\/a>, Pfizer’s relatively attractive valuation could be a much better option than richly priced Eli Lilly. And it is important to remember that new drugs are only given a time-limited patent to protect them. So, by design, Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 opportunity will not last forever.<\/p>\n Should you buy stock in Pfizer right now?<\/p>\n Before you buy stock in Pfizer, consider this:<\/p>\n The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks<\/a> for investors to buy now\u2026 and Pfizer wasn\u2019t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.<\/p>\n Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you\u2019d have $431,111!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you\u2019d have $1,105,521!*<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s worth noting Stock Advisor\u2019s total average return is 906% \u2014 a market-crushing outperformance compared to 195% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.<\/p>\n See the 10 stocks \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n *Stock Advisor returns as of February 4, 2026. <\/p>\n Reuben Gregg Brewer<\/a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key Points Eli Lilly has leading products in the GLP-1 space, with plans to bring pill versions of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-268416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770268028_180_.jpeg\"\/)
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