Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Exelixis hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $52.98 and last changing hands near $52.64, extending recent momentum in the stock.
• The company’s latest quarterly results were strong, with EPS of $0.87 topping estimates of $0.75 and revenue rising 10% year over year to $610.81 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally cautious: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with an average target price of $47.35, while insiders have also been selling shares recently.

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $52.98 and last traded at $52.6390, with a volume of 744506 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. 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 Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research lowered Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Exelixis from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.35.

Exelixis Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $13.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.47.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The firm had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $1,599,399.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 357,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,813,948.78. The trade was a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the sale, the director owned 284,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,375,611.20. The trade was a 1.36% 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 90 days, insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Exelixis by 21.6% during the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $805,412,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4,477,029 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 94,218 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Exelixis by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,299,597 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $184,391,000 after purchasing an additional 39,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Exelixis by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,206,656 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $184,378,000 after purchasing an additional 995,949 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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