Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Rating Increased to Hold at BMO Capital Markets

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was upgraded by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

EXEL has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Exelixis from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.07.

Exelixis Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Exelixis stock opened at $54.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.44. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $33.76 and a fifty-two week high of $57.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.44.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $628.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.40 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 42.17% and a net margin of 35.33%.Exelixis’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 9,812 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $491,973.68. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,201.06. This represents a 37.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 284,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,375,611.20. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,404,652 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Exelixis in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Exelixis in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

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.