BMO Capital Markets Upgrades Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) to "Hold"

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets upgraded Exelixis to “Hold,” aligning with the broader analyst consensus, which includes a $50.07 average price target versus the stock’s $54.39 opening price.
• Exelixis reported quarterly EPS of $0.91, exceeding estimates of $0.85, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $628.69 million but fell short of expectations.
• Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company, with BlackRock establishing a sizable new position, while insiders sold approximately 67,000 shares worth $3.4 million during the past quarter.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Exelixis from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Exelixis from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on Exelixis from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.07.

Exelixis Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $54.39 on Tuesday. Exelixis has a one year low of $33.76 and a one year high of $57.57. The company's 50 day moving average price is $54.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.44.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.33% and a return on equity of 42.17%. The firm had revenue of $628.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Exelixis's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Exelixis news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total value of $526,511.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $862,799.14. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their position. 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. Also, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 9,812 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $491,973.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $806,201.06. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 67,000 shares of company stock worth $3,404,652. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,581,991,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $598,647,000 after buying an additional 4,477,029 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,054,743 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $265,379,000 after buying an additional 94,218 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 buying an additional 39,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Exelixis by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,206,656 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $184,378,000 after acquiring an additional 995,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company's stock.

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.

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