Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Brookline Capital Management initiated coverage on Exelixis in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.24.

Exelixis Price Performance

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $35.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis has a 1-year low of $20.14 and a 1-year high of $37.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.14.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 23.52%. On average, analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelixis news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total transaction of $2,200,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,823,783.53. The trade was a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. This represents a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Exelixis by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,094 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 2,141 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 118.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 239,661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after purchasing an additional 129,805 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 12.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,138 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Exelixis in the third quarter valued at approximately $326,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Exelixis by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,317 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 1,620 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.