Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Exelixis has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", based on coverage from 20 firms: 2 sell, 9 hold, and 9 buy. The average 12-month price target is about $47.93.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.87 versus estimates of $0.75 and revenue of $610.81 million, slightly above forecasts. Revenue also rose 10% year over year.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including EVP Dana Aftab and CFO Christopher J. Senner, with total insider sales of 219,170 shares over the past three months. Meanwhile, institutional investors still own a large majority of the stock at 85.27%.

Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.9333.

EXEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $56.11 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50-day moving average is $51.22 and its 200 day moving average is $46.30. Exelixis has a one year low of $33.76 and a one year high of $57.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The company had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Exelixis will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,187,757.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 594,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,945,209.35. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,901 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $1,745,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 952,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,615,850. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the second quarter worth about $349,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 212.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 428,673 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $23,324,000 after purchasing an additional 291,593 shares during the period. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter worth about $251,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 15.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,025 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

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.

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