Short Interest in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Increases By 5.5%

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,690,000 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the August 31st total of 12,030,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.2 days. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Friday, September 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com raised Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Exelixis in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.67.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Exelixis stock opened at $26.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.09, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.54. Exelixis has a 52-week low of $18.64 and a 52-week high of $27.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $637.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.21 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 15.54%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 95,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $2,375,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,024,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Exelixis news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $515,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 630,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,256,081.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 95,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $2,375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,024,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 327,858 shares of company stock valued at $8,640,129. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Exelixis by 232.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 107.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,006 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Exelixis by 537.2% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelixis Company Profile

Exelixis, Inc, an oncology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers in the United States. The company offers CABOMETYX tablets for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who received prior anti-angiogenic therapy; and COMETRIQ capsules for the treatment of progressive and metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.