Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.90 and last traded at $39.94, with a volume of 1018102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EXEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Brookline Capital Management began coverage on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.24.

Exelixis Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.29. The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total value of $425,884.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,561.28. This trade represents a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total value of $388,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 341,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,231,886.40. The trade was a 2.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 308.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,975,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $132,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001,204 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at about $94,867,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 330.4% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,484,395 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $82,730,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907,167 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,159,395 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $105,208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,321,000. 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.