HC Wainwright Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $56.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price points to a potential upside of 3.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on EXEL. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on Exelixis from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial cut Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.87.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $53.96 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.18 and its 200-day moving average is $45.80. Exelixis has a 12 month low of $33.76 and a 12 month high of $55.91. The firm has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.42.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.51 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. Exelixis’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. Research analysts predict that Exelixis will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, Director Maria C. Freire sold 20,634 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $949,164.00. Following the sale, the director owned 100,819 shares in the company, valued at $4,637,674. The trade was a 16.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director George Poste sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.71, for a total transaction of $2,742,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 118,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,810.72. This represents a 33.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 500.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.