Morgan Stanley Reiterates “Equal Weight” Rating for Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $48.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $45.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.92% from the company’s current price.

EXEL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Exelixis from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.68.

Exelixis Trading Up 5.7%

EXEL stock opened at $46.19 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.82 and its 200 day moving average is $41.10. The stock has a market cap of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.40. Exelixis has a 1-year low of $31.90 and a 1-year 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. The business had revenue of $597.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.04 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 31.06% and a net margin of 29.63%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stelios Papadopoulos sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $4,355,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,189,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,790,879.40. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 24,622 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.93, for a total value of $1,032,400.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $896,463.40. This trade represents a 53.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 245,235 shares of company stock valued at $10,490,600 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the first quarter worth approximately $572,000. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,024,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Exelixis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $321,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 283,639 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,501,000 after buying an additional 17,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Exelixis in the 2nd quarter valued at $212,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.