Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Price Target Raised to $45.00 at Citigroup

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $38.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Exelixis from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Exelixis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.24.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of EXEL opened at $35.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.83. The stock has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis has a 12 month low of $20.14 and a 12 month high of $37.59.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 41,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total value of $1,428,963.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 288,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,918,529.40. This represents a 12.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total value of $2,200,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 486,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,823,783.53. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 111,588 shares of company stock valued at $3,981,864. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Exelixis by 0.4% in the 4th 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 boosted its stake in Exelixis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,169,847 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $272,056,000 after purchasing an additional 67,470 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Exelixis by 10.2% during 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. boosted its stake in Exelixis by 308.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,975,241 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $132,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Exelixis by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,967,005 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $132,101,000 after purchasing an additional 810,857 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.