Analysts Set Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Target Price at $46.94

Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.9444.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EXEL shares. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 47,918 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,132,351.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 616,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,416,717. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brenda Hefti sold 18,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $821,622.69. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 96,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,247,493.12. The trade was a 16.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 362,849 shares of company stock worth $15,917,463 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Exelixis by 95.1% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 599 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. RHS Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. RHS Financial LLC now owns 12,619 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cim LLC now owns 35,397 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 6.4% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,450 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelixis Stock Performance

EXEL opened at $43.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.68 and a 200-day moving average of $42.12. Exelixis has a 52-week low of $32.38 and a 52-week high of $49.62.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $598.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $609.17 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 36.29% and a net margin of 33.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Exelixis will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.