Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Exelixis’ price target from $53 to $60 but maintained an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 15% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: Exelixis has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $53.71, below its recent share price.
• Exelixis exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.94 in EPS and $658.7 million in revenue, while shares traded near their 12-month high following the results.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $53.00 to $60.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target indicates a potential downside of 15.32% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on EXEL. UBS Group set a $55.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Exelixis from $51.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Leerink Partners cut Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Friday. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.71.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL traded up $4.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,125,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,574,281. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.07 and its 200 day moving average is $50.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.47. Exelixis has a twelve month low of $36.00 and a twelve month high of $72.10.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 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 the consensus estimate of $646.51 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.33% and a return on equity of 42.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Exelixis will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

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

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $557,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in Exelixis by 194.0% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Exelixis in the third quarter valued at about $1,402,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Exelixis by 36.0% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 42,521 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,484,000 after acquiring an additional 11,267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Exelixis

Here are the key news stories impacting Exelixis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue beat expectations. Exelixis reported adjusted earnings of $0.94 per share versus the $0.89 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 10.2% year over year to $658.7 million, exceeding expectations of $646.5 million. Profitability and operating cash flow also remained strong. Exelixis third-quarter earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: CABOMETYX continues to support the business. The company’s flagship cancer treatment helped drive the quarterly beat, while management highlighted continued pipeline development and plans to advance Wave 2 pivotal studies. Exelixis Q3 2026 earnings analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Zanzalintinib provides a near-term catalyst. Exelixis outlined a March 3, 2027 FDA PDUFA date, giving investors a defined timeline for a potential regulatory decision on the drug. Zanzalintinib FDA timeline
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets but remain cautious. Truist lifted its target to $60, RBC to $58 and Barclays to $54. All three maintained equivalent hold, sector-perform or equal-weight ratings, and each target remains below the current share price.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and insider activity may temper enthusiasm. The stock’s elevated valuation has prompted cautious analyst ratings, while reported insider transactions over the past six months consisted of sales and no purchases.

Exelixis Company Profile

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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