Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Price Target Raised to $52.00

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) had its target price increased by research analysts at HC Wainwright from $49.00 to $52.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s price target points to a potential upside of 19.24% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Exelixis from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group set a $41.00 target price on Exelixis in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Exelixis from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.95.

Exelixis Stock Down 1.5%

EXEL opened at $43.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $43.74 and its 200-day moving average is $41.08. Exelixis has a 52-week low of $32.30 and a 52-week high of $49.62.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.10. Exelixis had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 31.06%. The business had revenue of $597.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.04 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Exelixis will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In related news, Director Stelios Papadopoulos sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $4,355,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,189,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,790,879.40. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 34,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.88, for a total transaction of $1,431,751.56. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 245,235 shares of company stock valued at $10,490,600. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 86,956 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,811,000 after acquiring an additional 17,615 shares during the period. J.M. Arbour LLC bought a new stake in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at about $628,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Exelixis by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,369 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 2,544 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Exelixis by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,716 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Exelixis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 290,715 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,742,000 after purchasing an additional 91,885 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule therapies primarily for the treatment of cancer. Building on a platform that leverages model organism genetics and high-throughput screening, the company focuses its research on kinase inhibitors that modulate critical signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and metastasis. Exelixis’s translational research approach aims to advance novel compounds from early-stage discovery through clinical development and regulatory approval.

The company’s most recognized products include CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, and COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib) for metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.