Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Exelixis from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.07.

Exelixis Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $58.53 on Tuesday. Exelixis has a 12-month low of $33.76 and a 12-month high of $59.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.33.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $628.69 million during 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total transaction of $526,511.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $862,799.14. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,581,991,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 4,875.6% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,785,373 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $804,472,000 after acquiring an additional 14,488,217 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,477,029 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Exelixis by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,054,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $265,379,000 after purchasing an additional 94,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Exelixis by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,299,597 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $184,391,000 after purchasing an additional 39,920 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.