Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Earns Market Outperform Rating from JMP Securities

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at JMP Securities in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $41.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. JMP Securities’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.26% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on EXEL. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer cut Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.59.

Exelixis Stock Up 0.1 %

EXEL traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $36.20. 178,646 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,172,143. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. Exelixis has a 52-week low of $20.14 and a 52-week high of $40.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.11.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 29,314 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $1,059,407.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 779,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,174,996.98. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $1,946,479.28. Following the sale, 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 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 616.9% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Exelixis by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.