Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on EXEL. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group set a $41.00 price target on Exelixis in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Exelixis in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.94.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,713,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,118,994. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.54. The firm has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.41. Exelixis has a 1-year low of $32.38 and a 1-year high of $49.62.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bob Oliver sold 30,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.81, for a total transaction of $1,325,252.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 21,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,267.20. This trade represents a 58.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 99,574 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $4,382,251.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 279,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,320,247.42. The trade was a 26.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 362,849 shares of company stock valued at $15,917,463 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Exelixis by 95.1% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 599 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 500.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Company Profile

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.