Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citizens Jmp Analyst Says

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Citizens Jmp from $50.00 to $55.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.13% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on EXEL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Exelixis from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.67.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $51.34 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.32. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $33.76 and a fifty-two week high of $53.93. The stock has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.41.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The company had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 284,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,375,611.20. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,187,757.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 594,741 shares in the company, valued at $29,945,209.35. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Exelixis by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $598,647,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,029 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $805,412,000 after buying an additional 3,466,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,460,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 100.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,655,069 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1,821.0% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,188,105 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $52,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126,256 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.