Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.2857.

Several research firms have weighed in on EXEL. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $53.03 on Monday. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $33.76 and a fifty-two week high of $57.57. The company has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.61.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.51 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Exelixis will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,187,757.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 594,741 shares in the company, valued at $29,945,209.35. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $1,599,399.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 357,638 shares in the company, valued at $17,813,948.78. This represents a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Exelixis by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $598,647,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,029 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,054,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $265,379,000 after purchasing an additional 94,218 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,299,597 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $184,391,000 after purchasing an additional 39,920 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,206,656 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $184,378,000 after purchasing an additional 995,949 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,722,334 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067,265 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.