Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $53.82 and last traded at $52.58, with a volume of 3104077 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EXEL. Zacks Research downgraded Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Exelixis from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial upgraded Exelixis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Exelixis from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.35.

Exelixis Trading Down 0.8%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.59 and a 200 day moving average of $44.76. The company has a market capitalization of $13.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.41.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The company had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.51 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Exelixis’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelixis news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $1,745,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 952,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,615,850. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 9,812 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $491,973.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $806,201.06. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641 in the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $598,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,477,029 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $805,412,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466,000 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1,230.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,195,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $131,994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955,813 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth $106,460,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 100.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,655,069 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,087 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.