Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given “Buy” Rating at HC Wainwright

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $52.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.47% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on EXEL. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group set a $41.00 price target on Exelixis in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Exelixis from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

Exelixis Trading Up 3.5%

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $42.81 on Tuesday. Exelixis has a 12 month low of $32.38 and a 12 month high of $49.62. The stock has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.77 and its 200 day moving average is $41.00.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $597.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.04 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 31.06%. Exelixis’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 48,383 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.50, for a total value of $2,056,277.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 664,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,253,065. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Stelios Papadopoulos sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.55, for a total transaction of $4,355,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,189,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,790,879.40. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 245,235 shares of company stock valued at $10,490,600. 2.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,024,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter worth about $321,000. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the third quarter worth about $1,017,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. boosted its position in Exelixis by 6.6% during the second quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 283,639 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,501,000 after acquiring an additional 17,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Exelixis

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.