Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Shares Up 6.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Exelixis shares rose 6.2% on Wednesday, trading as high as $51.41 after closing at $48.54 the previous day. Volume was below average, with about 1.3 million shares changing hands.
• The company reported strong first-quarter earnings, posting $0.87 per share versus expectations of $0.75 and revenue of $610.8 million, slightly above estimates. Revenue also grew 10% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: several firms raised price targets or ratings, but the stock’s overall consensus is still "Hold" with an average price target of $47.35, below the current share price.

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 6.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $51.41 and last traded at $51.5560. 1,316,339 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 2,719,704 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EXEL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Exelixis from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Exelixis from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Exelixis from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Exelixis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $47.35.

Exelixis Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.29. The company has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,901 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $1,745,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 952,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,615,850. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,187,757.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 594,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,945,209.35. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 205,433 shares of company stock valued at $9,930,259. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,466,000 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 48.8% in 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Exelixis by 1.6% in 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 39,920 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Exelixis by 31.0% in 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 during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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