Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Exelixis’ Q4 2027 earnings at $1.00 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.97 EPS and Q2 2028 earnings at $0.99 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Exelixis from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Exelixis from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.50.

Exelixis Price Performance

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $56.00 on Monday. Exelixis has a one year low of $33.76 and a one year high of $57.57. The firm has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.95 and its 200-day moving average is $47.76.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The business had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Exelixis’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 357,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,813,948.78. This represents a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Maria C. Freire sold 20,634 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $949,164.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,637,674. This trade represents a 16.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at $106,460,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 100.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,655,069 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,087 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 1,821.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,126,256 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,115,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $92,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.