Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 3,495 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 56% compared to the typical volume of 2,238 call options.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of EXEL stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $43.87. 935,301 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,499,318. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $41.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.79. Exelixis has a 12-month low of $21.86 and a 12-month high of $49.62. The stock has a market cap of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXEL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 price target on shares of Exelixis and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stephens raised shares of Exelixis from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $43.00) on shares of Exelixis in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $47.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, Director Stelios Papadopoulos sold 36,508 shares of the business'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 value of $1,619,129.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,279,416 shares in the company, valued at $56,742,099.60. The trade was a 2.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $4,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 967,842 shares in the company, valued at $44,520,732. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 458,113 shares of company stock worth $21,024,817. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,429,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $979,994,000 after acquiring an additional 121,750 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,169,847 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $272,056,000 after acquiring an additional 67,470 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 2.2% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,795,074 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $287,794,000 after acquiring an additional 164,134 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 73.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,893,889 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $250,869,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Exelixis by 40.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,572,189 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $205,725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,948 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

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.