Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given New $46.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has reduced its price target for Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) from $48.00 to $46.00, still maintaining an "overweight" rating which indicates a potential upside of 23.47% from the latest close.
• The stock has seen a significant decline of 16.1%, currently trading at $37.26 with a consensus price target of $45.11, reflecting a "Moderate Buy" rating from analysts.
• Insider selling has occurred, with EVP Patrick J. Haley selling over 126,000 shares at an average price of $47.96, highlighting potential concerns among company executives regarding the stock's future performance.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $46.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.46% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $43.00 target price on shares of Exelixis and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $50.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.44.

Exelixis Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of EXEL traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.26. The stock had a trading volume of 5,660,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,398,983. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.90. Exelixis has a one year low of $23.21 and a one year high of $49.62. The firm has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.29.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The biotechnology company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.12. Exelixis had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 27.47%. The company had revenue of $568.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $574.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In related news, CMO Amy C. Peterson sold 72,776 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.47, for a total transaction of $3,309,124.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 465,393 shares in the company, valued at $21,161,419.71. This represents a 13.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stelios Papadopoulos sold 36,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.35, for a total transaction of $1,619,129.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,279,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,742,099.60. This represents a 2.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 456,605 shares of company stock worth $20,966,005 over the last 90 days. 2.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXEL. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in Exelixis by 211.3% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 769 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in Exelixis by 616.9% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in Exelixis by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 710 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Exelixis in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.