Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Exelixis shares reached a new 52-week high of $61.66, last trading near $61 and above the previous close of $59.86.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded earnings expectations, with EPS of $0.91 versus the $0.85 consensus estimate; revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $628.69 million, though it came in slightly below forecasts.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Exelixis has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $50.79, despite several positive rating or price-target increases. Institutional investors own approximately 85.27% of the stock.

Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $61.66 and last traded at $60.9990, with a volume of 463,577 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Exelixis from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Exelixis from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.79.

Exelixis Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $56.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.28.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $628.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $636.40 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.33% and a return on equity of 42.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, Director Mary Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total transaction of $526,511.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $862,799.14. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EXEL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter worth about $1,581,991,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of 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. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Exelixis by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,388,920 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $145,351,000 after purchasing an additional 58,149 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Exelixis by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,534,992 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $108,726,000 after purchasing an additional 970,144 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Exelixis by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,149,397 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $116,949,000 after purchasing an additional 504,660 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing medicines for cancer. The company's research and development activities are centered primarily on targeted therapies and other treatments for solid tumors.

Exelixis' principal product is cabozantinib, marketed in the United States as CABOMETYX tablets for certain patients with renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and differentiated thyroid cancer. The company also markets COMETRIQ, a cabozantinib formulation approved in the United States for progressive or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.

Exelixis was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Alameda, California.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.