Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Price Target Raised to $52.00

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) had its price target lifted by HC Wainwright from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on EXEL. Citigroup lowered shares of Exelixis from a “market outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.95.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.9%

Exelixis stock opened at $42.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.09. Exelixis has a 52 week low of $32.38 and a 52 week high of $49.62.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelixis news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 48,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.50, for a total value of $2,056,277.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 664,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,253,065. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 34,187 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.88, for a total value of $1,431,751.56. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 245,235 shares of company stock worth $10,490,600 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Exelixis by 81.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,181 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 19,407 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,466,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,153,000 after purchasing an additional 68,133 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 83.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 38,458 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 17,483 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 134.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Exelixis by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.