Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given Buy Rating at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright restated their buy rating on shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on EXEL. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their price target on Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Exelixis from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer lowered Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.59.

Exelixis Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $36.84 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.70 and its 200 day moving average is $33.14. The stock has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. Exelixis has a 1-year low of $20.14 and a 1-year high of $40.02.

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

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 8,768 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.80, for a total transaction of $331,430.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 356,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,479,669. This trade represents a 2.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $1,946,479.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 303,310 shares in the company, valued at $11,216,403.80. The trade was a 14.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234 over the last ninety days. 2.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 616.9% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently 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.