Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Lowered to Market Perform Rating by BMO Capital Markets

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was downgraded by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $40.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $36.00. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.16% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on EXEL. UBS Group initiated coverage on Exelixis in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.44.

Exelixis Stock Down 1.2 %

EXEL stock opened at $33.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.55. Exelixis has a 12 month low of $19.20 and a 12 month high of $36.97. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.52.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. Exelixis had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $539.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $490.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Exelixis’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Exelixis will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 1,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $36,486.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 498,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,666,873. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 339,736 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,610 in the last 90 days. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 109,856 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Exelixis in the second quarter valued at about $216,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 92.1% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 731,476 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,436,000 after buying an additional 350,740 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 157,905 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,548,000 after buying an additional 2,732 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.