Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on EXEL. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Brookline Capital Management began coverage on Exelixis in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.24.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $34.20 on Wednesday. Exelixis has a 12 month low of $20.14 and a 12 month high of $37.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.08.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total transaction of $2,200,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at $17,823,783.53. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 278,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,828,514.55. This trade represents a 3.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in Exelixis by 616.9% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by 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.