Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $39.90 and last traded at $39.94, with a volume of 1018102 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.58.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.24.

Exelixis Trading Down 5.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $35.18 and its 200 day moving average is $32.29.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 23.52%. Equities research analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $1,946,479.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 303,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,216,403.80. This trade represents a 14.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bob Oliver sold 18,647 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.25, for a total value of $694,600.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,248,396.50. The trade was a 35.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,343 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,234. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 469,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,195,000 after buying an additional 34,875 shares during the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the third quarter valued at about $4,396,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Exelixis during the third quarter worth about $577,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 134.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,302 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 8,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $573,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Company Profile

Exelixis, Inc, an oncology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers in the United States. The company offers CABOMETYX tablets for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who received prior anti-angiogenic therapy; and COMETRIQ capsules for the treatment of progressive and metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.