Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Exelixis shares reached a new 52-week high, trading around $60.29 and rising 3.1%, with a market capitalization of approximately $14.99 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook: the stock has an average “Hold” rating and a $50.29 consensus price target, well below its current trading level.
• Exelixis beat quarterly EPS expectations with $0.91 versus $0.85, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year but came in slightly below forecasts. An insider also sold shares, while institutional investors own 85.27% of the company.

Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $60.13 and last traded at $60.29, with a volume of 566252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Exelixis from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Exelixis in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.29.

Exelixis Trading Up 3.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $14.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.31.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $628.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.40 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 42.17% and a net margin of 35.33%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelixis news, Director Mary Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Exelixis by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 59,420 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,549,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 3.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,077 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 2.8% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 16,204 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 4.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,562 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,115 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Exelixis Company Profile

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.

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