Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $47.00 price objective (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.76.

Exelixis Stock Performance

EXEL opened at $45.40 on Thursday. Exelixis has a 1 year low of $20.14 and a 1 year high of $48.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.80.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George Poste sold 20,634 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.99, for a total value of $948,957.66. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 169,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,773,229.80. This trade represents a 10.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 126,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.96, for a total transaction of $6,061,328.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 446,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,412,173.64. The trade was a 22.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 520,942 shares of company stock worth $22,930,002. 2.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 211.3% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 769 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Exelixis by 616.9% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Exelixis by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. 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.