Exelixis Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 3,495 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 56% compared to the average daily volume of 2,238 call options.

Exelixis Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $44.16 on Tuesday. Exelixis has a 12 month low of $21.86 and a 12 month high of $49.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 18,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.74, for a total value of $805,136.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $913,781.20. The trade was a 46.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 34,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $1,515,091.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 412,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,155,892.32. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 458,113 shares of company stock worth $21,024,817 in the last quarter. 2.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $706,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 958.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,942 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 2,664 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,046,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on EXEL shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $47.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.56.

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.