Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $39.30 and last traded at $38.55, with a volume of 3791864 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer lowered Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.24.

Exelixis Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.78.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 8,768 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.80, for a total value of $331,430.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 356,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,479,669. The trade was a 2.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. This represents a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 130,343 shares of company stock valued at $4,789,234. Insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Seizert Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 469,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,195,000 after acquiring an additional 34,875 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Exelixis by 124.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 991,494 shares during the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Exelixis in the third quarter worth $4,396,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Exelixis during the third quarter valued at $577,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 134.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,302 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 8,208 shares during the period. 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.