Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on EXEL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Exelixis from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.24.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $36.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.23. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $20.14 and a fifty-two week high of $37.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,561.28. This trade represents a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total transaction 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 approximately $17,823,783.53. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 616.9% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors 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.