Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given Equal Weight Rating at Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $29.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Exelixis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.81.

Exelixis Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $32.72 on Monday. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $20.01 and a fifty-two week high of $37.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.89. The stock has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. Exelixis had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $539.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $490.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 1,162 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total value of $36,486.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 498,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,666,873. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total value of $2,200,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at $17,823,783.53. The trade was a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 289,736 shares of company stock valued at $10,139,360. Company insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,462,072 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $63,891,000 after acquiring an additional 140,568 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,855 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,473,000 after buying an additional 991,494 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,702,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $44,182,000 after buying an additional 98,000 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 7.1% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,168,391 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,320,000 after acquiring an additional 77,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Exelixis by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 911,497 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,653,000 after purchasing an additional 180,021 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

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.