Exelixis’ (EXEL) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Stephens in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $29.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Stephens’ target price would indicate a potential downside of 15.92% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lowered Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Exelixis from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.24.

Exelixis Stock Up 5.2 %

Shares of EXEL opened at $34.49 on Wednesday. Exelixis has a 52-week low of $20.14 and a 52-week high of $37.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.75.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. On average, equities analysts expect that Exelixis will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total value of $2,200,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at $17,823,783.53. The trade was a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 278,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,828,514.55. This represents a 3.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,588 shares of company stock worth $3,981,864. Company insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 8.0% in the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 469,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,195,000 after acquiring an additional 34,875 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Exelixis by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,855 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,473,000 after purchasing an additional 991,494 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Exelixis by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 54,863 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 20,641 shares during the period. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,396,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $577,000. 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.