Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “market outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.94.

Exelixis Price Performance

EXEL stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.54. The company had a trading volume of 2,713,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,118,994. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.54. The company has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.41. Exelixis has a 1 year low of $32.38 and a 1 year high of $49.62.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.20. Exelixis had a net margin of 33.73% and a return on equity of 36.29%. The company had revenue of $598.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $609.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Exelixis will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 30,617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $1,337,044.39. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 976,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,625,937.64. This represents a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brenda Hefti sold 18,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $821,622.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 96,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,247,493.12. The trade was a 16.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 362,849 shares of company stock worth $15,917,463. 2.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $598,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,477,029 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Exelixis by 21.6% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $805,412,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466,000 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 1,230.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,195,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $131,994,000 after buying an additional 2,955,813 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter valued at approximately $122,099,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 120.5% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 3,047,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $134,306,000 after buying an additional 1,665,110 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelixis Company Profile

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.