Citigroup Boosts Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Price Target to $56.00

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Citigroup from $45.00 to $56.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.35% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on EXEL. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $47.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Exelixis from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.76.

Exelixis Trading Down 1.9%

EXEL stock opened at $45.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.80. Exelixis has a twelve month low of $20.14 and a twelve month high of $48.85.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 research analysts predict that Exelixis will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 126,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.96, for a total value of $6,061,328.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 446,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,412,173.64. This trade represents a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 29,314 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $1,059,407.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 779,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,174,996.98. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 520,942 shares of company stock valued at $22,930,002. Corporate insiders own 2.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exelixis

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $221,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $2,619,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $437,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Exelixis by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,936 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 4,394 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.