StockNews.com Upgrades Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) to Strong-Buy

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.24.

Exelixis Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Exelixis stock opened at $35.09 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.16 and a 200 day moving average of $31.14. Exelixis has a 52 week low of $20.14 and a 52 week high of $37.59. The company has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its 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, research analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,823,783.53. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Exelixis by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,890 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,335 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 58,159 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,937,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.