Brenda Hefti Sells 18,669 Shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Stock

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) SVP Brenda Hefti sold 18,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $821,622.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 96,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,247,493.12. This represents a 16.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Exelixis Trading Down 0.7%

EXEL stock opened at $44.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.42. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.38 and a 12 month high of $49.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.15.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.20. Exelixis had a return on equity of 36.29% and a net margin of 33.73%.The business had revenue of $598.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $609.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXEL. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Exelixis from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Guggenheim lowered Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.11.

Exelixis News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Exelixis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat: Exelixis reported $0.94 EPS vs. $0.74 expected and showed y/y revenue growth (Q4 revenue $598.7M), which supports earnings momentum and margin strength. MarketBeat EXEL summary
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional / analyst backdrop is broadly constructive: multiple funds have added or increased stakes and several analysts have maintained or slightly raised targets (consensus target ~ $47.11), which leaves upside if execution/clinical data remain favorable. Analyst & institutional notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest note appears anomalous — the reported February short interest shows 0 shares (short‑interest ratio 0.0 days), likely a data reporting artifact and not informative for positioning. (Source: short‑interest entry)
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical / valuation context: market cap ~ $11.5B, P/E ~16, 50‑day sma ≈ $43.8 and 200‑day sma ≈ $41 — the stock sits between short‑ and long‑term averages so momentum could swing with new catalysts. Key metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Large executive/insider selling this week: EVP Patrick Haley sold 67,814 shares (~$2.95M on Feb 17). Such large insider disposals can create negative optics about timing or liquidity needs. Haley SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated CFO sales: Christopher Senner disclosed two sales (34,278 on Feb 13 and 30,617 on Feb 17) totaling roughly $2.8M, which amplifies negative insider‑selling optics. CFO SEC filings
• Negative Sentiment: Director-level reductions: Director Bob Oliver sold 30,250 shares (~$1.33M; ~59% reduction) and other insiders (SVP Brenda Hefti, Director Sue Eckhardt) also sold smaller blocks — combined insider sales this week approximate $8–9M, which likely pressured sentiment. Oliver SEC filing Hefti SEC filing Eckhardt SEC filing

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $598,647,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,029 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $805,412,000 after buying an additional 3,466,000 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Exelixis by 1,230.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,195,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $131,994,000 after buying an additional 2,955,813 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter worth $122,099,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 120.5% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 3,047,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $134,306,000 after acquiring an additional 1,665,110 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelixis Company Profile

Exelixis, Inc is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule therapies primarily for the treatment of cancer. Building on a platform that leverages model organism genetics and high-throughput screening, the company focuses its research on kinase inhibitors that modulate critical signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and metastasis. Exelixis’s translational research approach aims to advance novel compounds from early-stage discovery through clinical development and regulatory approval.

The company’s most recognized products include CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, and COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib) for metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.