Truist Financial Raises Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Price Target to $56.00

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised its price target on Exelixis to $56 from $54, while keeping a hold rating on the biotech stock.
• Other analysts remain mixed on EXEL, with recent moves including buy ratings and higher targets from firms like UBS, Citizens JMP, and TD Cowen. Overall, MarketBeat shows an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $47.73.
• Exelixis reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.87 beating estimates and revenue of $610.81 million topping expectations. The stock has also traded near its 52-week high, opening at $55.53 versus a high of $56.21.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by research analysts at Truist Financial from $54.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Truist Financial's target price suggests a potential upside of 0.85% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on EXEL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Exelixis from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.73.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $55.53 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $50.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.42. Exelixis has a 1 year low of $33.76 and a 1 year high of $56.21.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The firm had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Exelixis will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In related news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,901 shares of the company'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 value of $1,745,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 952,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,615,850. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 594,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,945,209.35. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $805,412,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466,000 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Exelixis by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $598,647,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,029 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised 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 valued at $265,379,000 after purchasing an additional 94,218 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Exelixis by 31.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

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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