Exelixis’ (EXEL) Market Outperform Rating Reiterated at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reaffirmed their market outperform rating on shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $41.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.59.

Exelixis Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $36.19 on Thursday. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $20.14 and a fifty-two week high of $40.02. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.30.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 24.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Exelixis will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $1,946,479.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 303,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,216,403.80. The trade was a 14.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,561.28. The trade was a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXEL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,429,252 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $979,994,000 after buying an additional 121,750 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,169,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $272,056,000 after acquiring an additional 67,470 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,630,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $254,110,000 after purchasing an additional 708,312 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Exelixis by 308.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,975,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $132,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001,204 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Exelixis by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,967,005 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $132,101,000 after purchasing an additional 810,857 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Company Profile

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.