Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Sets New 52-Week High at $24.36

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $24.36 and last traded at $24.24, with a volume of 1459765 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 13th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut shares of Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Exelixis from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.13.

Exelixis Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.21. The company has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.54.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $425.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.04 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 8,287 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total transaction of $182,314.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 349,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,688,978. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director George Poste sold 11,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.96, for a total value of $244,938.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 213,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,483,490.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 8,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total value of $182,314.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 349,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,688,978. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,896 shares of company stock valued at $660,677. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Exelixis by 3.6% in the second quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,746 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its stake in Exelixis by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 53,239 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 232.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Exelixis by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,709 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 11.5% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 7,555 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.