Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Exelixis from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with a consensus price target of $55.21.
• Exelixis reported a strong quarter, posting EPS of $0.94 versus the $0.89 estimate and revenue of $658.7 million, up 10.2% year over year. CABOMETYX sales remained the primary growth driver.
• The stock was trading at $69.39, near its 12-month high of $72.10, despite mixed analyst views and recent insider selling; institutional investors own approximately 85.27% of the shares.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on EXEL. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.21.

Exelixis Trading Up 4.8%

EXEL opened at $69.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50 day moving average is $59.39 and its 200 day moving average is $50.92. Exelixis has a 12-month low of $36.00 and a 12-month high of $72.10.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $658.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.51 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 35.45%. Exelixis's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Exelixis will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelixis news, Director Mary Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total transaction of $526,511.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $862,799.14. This trade represents a 37.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Exelixis during the 2nd quarter worth $1,581,991,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,299,597 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $184,391,000 after purchasing an additional 39,920 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1.7% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,388,920 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $145,351,000 after purchasing an additional 58,149 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 30.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,149,397 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $116,949,000 after purchasing an additional 504,660 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter valued at $113,951,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Exelixis News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Exelixis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue beat expectations: Exelixis reported adjusted EPS of $0.94 versus the $0.89 consensus estimate and revenue of $658.7 million versus expectations of approximately $646.5 million. Revenue increased 10.2% year over year. EXEL Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on Strong Cabometyx Sales
• Positive Sentiment: CABOMETYX remained the key growth driver: U.S. net product revenue reached roughly $605 million, with franchise revenue growth of about 11% year over year, supporting confidence in Exelixis’ core commercial business.
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns and financial strength supported sentiment: The company repurchased approximately $250 million of stock during the quarter and ended the period with about $1.4 billion in cash and marketable securities.
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline catalyst is approaching: Exelixis outlined a March 3, 2027 FDA decision date for zanzalintinib, while continuing preparations for additional pivotal studies. Exelixis outlines March 3, 2027 PDUFA for zanza
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $76 from $55 and assigned a Buy rating, adding to the bullish reaction following the earnings release. TD Cowen Exelixis ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed: Morgan Stanley raised its target to $60 but maintained Equalweight, while Truist, RBC, Barclays and other firms also lifted targets that remain below the current trading level.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider trading presents a cautionary signal: Six reported insider open-market transactions over the past six months were sales, with no purchases. This may temper enthusiasm despite the favorable quarterly results.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing medicines for cancer and other serious diseases. The company's research programs center primarily on targeted therapies, including treatments designed to inhibit signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and progression.

Exelixis' lead product is CABOMETYX (cabozantinib), an oral medicine approved in the United States for certain patients with renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and differentiated thyroid cancer.

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