Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.59.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on EXEL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer cut Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Exelixis from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In related news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 8,768 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.80, for a total value of $331,430.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 356,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,479,669. This trade represents a 2.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total value of $388,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 341,028 shares in the company, valued at $13,231,886.40. This trade represents a 2.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234 over the last quarter. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Exelixis by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,429,252 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $979,994,000 after acquiring an additional 121,750 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,169,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $272,056,000 after purchasing an additional 67,470 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Exelixis by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,630,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $254,110,000 after buying an additional 708,312 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Exelixis by 308.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,975,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $132,376,000 after buying an additional 3,001,204 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,967,005 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $132,101,000 after buying an additional 810,857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Price Performance

Exelixis stock opened at $36.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.14. Exelixis has a 12 month low of $20.14 and a 12 month high of $40.02.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Exelixis will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.