Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Barclays

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $29.00 to $40.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the biotechnology company's stock.

EXEL has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $47.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Exelixis from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Exelixis from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.72.

Exelixis Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ EXEL traded down $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.86. 2,063,340 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,526,352. The company has a market cap of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.28. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $49.62. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelixis news, Director Tomas J. Heyman sold 4,544 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.29, for a total transaction of $201,253.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,438,096.30. This represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Amy C. Peterson sold 72,776 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.47, for a total value of $3,309,124.72. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 465,393 shares in the company, valued at $21,161,419.71. The trade was a 13.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 458,113 shares of company stock valued at $21,024,817 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,372 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Exelixis by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Exelixis by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in Exelixis by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 6,847 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc, an oncology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers in the United States. The company offers CABOMETYX tablets for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who received prior anti-angiogenic therapy; and COMETRIQ capsules for the treatment of progressive and metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.