Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Sunday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Exelixis from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Guggenheim cut Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.11.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Exelixis stock opened at $43.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.42. Exelixis has a 52 week low of $32.38 and a 52 week high of $49.62.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $598.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $609.17 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 36.29% and a net margin of 33.73%.The business’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bob Oliver sold 30,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.81, for a total value of $1,325,252.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $925,267.20. The trade was a 58.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $1,473,954.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,042,579 shares in the company, valued at $44,830,897. The trade was a 3.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 285,058 shares of company stock worth $12,460,245. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Exelixis by 81.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,181 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 19,407 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,466,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,153,000 after purchasing an additional 68,133 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 38,458 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 17,483 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 134.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 2,764 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule therapies primarily for the treatment of cancer. Building on a platform that leverages model organism genetics and high-throughput screening, the company focuses its research on kinase inhibitors that modulate critical signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and metastasis. Exelixis’s translational research approach aims to advance novel compounds from early-stage discovery through clinical development and regulatory approval.

The company’s most recognized products include CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, and COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib) for metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.