Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $44.04, but opened at $42.59. Exelixis shares last traded at $44.7560, with a volume of 797,024 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EXEL shares. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup lowered shares of Exelixis from a “market outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Exelixis from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Exelixis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.84.

Exelixis Stock Up 0.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.07.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.10. Exelixis had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 31.06%. The firm had revenue of $597.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 24,622 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.93, for a total value of $1,032,400.46. Following the sale, the director owned 21,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,463.40. This represents a 53.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stelios Papadopoulos sold 100,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total value of $4,355,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,189,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,790,879.40. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 245,235 shares of company stock worth $10,490,600 in the last ninety days. 2.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,466,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 20.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,181,359 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $379,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575,280 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,445,469 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $328,196,000 after buying an additional 28,289 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Exelixis by 7.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,960,525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $246,170,000 after acquiring an additional 394,897 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Exelixis by 42.9% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,262,643 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $231,951,000 after buying an additional 1,580,567 shares during the last quarter. 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.