Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Shares Down 9.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) dropped 9.4% on Monday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as low as $40.69 and last traded at $39.91. Approximately 1,453,986 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 2,634,605 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.06.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America cut Exelixis from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research raised Exelixis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 47,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,132,351.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 616,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,416,717. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 67,814 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $2,951,265.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 381,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,620,636.16. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 362,849 shares of company stock valued at $15,917,463. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,024,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Exelixis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $517,000. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Exelixis by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 696,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,749,000 after buying an additional 108,367 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Exelixis by 153.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,462,948 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $101,720,000 after buying an additional 1,490,520 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 2nd quarter worth about $321,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.48. The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.41.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $598.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $609.17 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 36.29% and a net margin of 33.73%.Exelixis’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.