Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.59.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EXEL shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $36.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.14. Exelixis has a one year low of $20.14 and a one year high of $40.02.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (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, research analysts expect that Exelixis will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,561.28. The trade was a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total value of $388,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 341,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,231,886.40. This represents a 2.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,890 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 58,159 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,937,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Exelixis

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.