Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on EXEL. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Exelixis from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Exelixis from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.06.

Exelixis Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of EXEL traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,181,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,497,168. Exelixis has a 52-week low of $20.01 and a 52-week high of $37.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.71.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 22.43%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Exelixis will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelixis news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 41,588 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total transaction of $1,428,963.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 288,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,918,529.40. This trade represents a 12.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,588 shares of company stock worth $3,981,864. Insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Exelixis by 124.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,855 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,473,000 after acquiring an additional 991,494 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,562,790 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,884,000 after buying an additional 704,786 shares during the last quarter. Globeflex Capital L P lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 203.8% during the 4th quarter. Globeflex Capital L P now owns 975,151 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,473,000 after buying an additional 654,200 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in Exelixis in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,979,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $17,046,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

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.