Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to “Hold” Rating

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) from a market perform rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Exelixis from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $55.00 price objective on Exelixis in a report on Monday, August 3rd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Leerink Partners cut Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.07.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $54.39 on Tuesday. Exelixis has a 52-week low of $33.76 and a 52-week high of $57.57. The stock has a market cap of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.44.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.33% and a return on equity of 42.17%. The company had revenue of $628.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Exelixis will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In related news, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 9,812 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $491,973.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,201.06. This trade represents a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,187,757.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 594,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,945,209.35. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,404,652 in the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Exelixis in the second quarter worth about $1,581,991,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $598,647,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,029 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Exelixis by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,054,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $265,379,000 after purchasing an additional 94,218 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Exelixis by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,299,597 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $184,391,000 after purchasing an additional 39,920 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Exelixis by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,206,656 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $184,378,000 after buying an additional 995,949 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.