Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Exelixis has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" from 23 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $47.35.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.87 versus a $0.75 estimate and revenue of $610.81 million, up 10% year over year.
• Despite the earnings beat, the stock was down 2.3%, and recent filings show insider selling, including transactions by SVP Brenda Hefti and Director Maria C. Freire.

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $47.3529.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial raised Exelixis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Exelixis Trading Down 2.3%

EXEL opened at $48.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.38. Exelixis has a 12 month low of $33.76 and a 12 month high of $51.63. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $44.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.64.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.51 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Exelixis will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Brenda Hefti sold 6,625 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total value of $332,641.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 106,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,360,520.02. The trade was a 5.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Maria C. Freire sold 20,634 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $949,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 100,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,637,674. This represents a 16.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 207,663 shares of company stock valued at $9,600,320 in the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Exelixis in the third quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Exelixis by 18.4% in the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 696,104 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,749,000 after buying an additional 108,367 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Exelixis by 11.2% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,180,912 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $172,658,000 after buying an additional 419,596 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Exelixis by 153.3% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,462,948 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $101,720,000 after buying an additional 1,490,520 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Exelixis by 19.1% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 204,211 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,434,000 after buying an additional 32,737 shares during the period. 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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