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

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.24.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXEL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price target on Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Brookline Capital Management started coverage on Exelixis in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelixis news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total value of $425,884.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. This trade represents a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were 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. 2.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $241,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 427.8% in the 4th quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 53,892 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 43,682 shares during the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth $288,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 844,345 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,117,000 after purchasing an additional 33,804 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelixis Stock Up 5.0 %

EXEL opened at $36.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $20.14 and a fifty-two week high of $37.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.32.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 24.04%. Research analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.