Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Stock

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) had its price objective lifted by Truist Financial from $42.00 to $43.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 30.32% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on EXEL. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Monday. Finally, Brookline Capital Management began coverage on Exelixis in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.81.

Exelixis Stock Performance

EXEL traded up $0.62 during trading on Monday, reaching $33.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,054,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,657,945. The stock has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis has a one year low of $20.01 and a one year high of $37.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.87 and a 200-day moving average of $29.82.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Exelixis had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 22.43%. The firm had revenue of $539.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $490.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,823,783.53. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 1,162 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $36,486.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 498,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,666,873. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 289,736 shares of company stock worth $10,139,360. 2.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 6.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,462,072 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $63,891,000 after acquiring an additional 140,568 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,855 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,473,000 after buying an additional 991,494 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Exelixis by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,702,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $44,182,000 after buying an additional 98,000 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in Exelixis by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,168,391 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,320,000 after buying an additional 77,599 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Exelixis by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 911,497 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,653,000 after buying an additional 180,021 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.