Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.3529.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,901 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $1,745,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 952,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,615,850. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $1,599,399.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 357,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,813,948.78. The trade was a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641 in the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $598,647,000 after buying an additional 4,477,029 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $805,412,000 after buying an additional 3,466,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at $106,460,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 100.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,655,069 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,654,000 after buying an additional 1,328,087 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1,821.0% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,188,105 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $52,075,000 after buying an additional 1,126,256 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of EXEL opened at $51.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.20. Exelixis has a 1-year low of $33.76 and a 1-year high of $53.93. The stock has a market cap of $13.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.41.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The business had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.51 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Exelixis will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.