Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of 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. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,770,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total value of $3,398,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 721,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,622,479.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Exelixis news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total transaction of $3,398,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 721,680 shares in the company, valued at $19,622,479.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 20,883 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.06, for a total value of $565,093.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 500,107 shares in the company, valued at $13,532,895.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 327,858 shares of company stock valued at $8,640,129 over the last 90 days. 2.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Exelixis by 1,651.4% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,774,707 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $65,844,000 after buying an additional 2,616,278 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 45.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 90,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 28,126 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 948.3% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,454,277 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,240,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220,150 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 1.6% in the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 27,102,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $608,993,000 after purchasing an additional 424,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $828,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelixis Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL traded up $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,226,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,024,110. Exelixis has a 12-month low of $18.64 and a 12-month high of $27.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.63 and its 200 day moving average is $23.51. The stock has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.54.

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. Exelixis had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $637.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.21 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EXEL shares. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price 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. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Friday, September 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.67.

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.