Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Raised to Strong-Buy at Truist Financial

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Truist Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on EXEL. Wall Street Zen upgraded Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Bank of America lowered shares of Exelixis from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.94.

Exelixis Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $42.36 on Wednesday. Exelixis has a one year low of $32.38 and a one year high of $49.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.91. The stock has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.20. Exelixis had a return on equity of 36.29% and a net margin of 33.73%.The firm had revenue of $598.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $609.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Exelixis’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Exelixis will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 30,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $1,337,044.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 976,092 shares in the company, valued at $42,625,937.64. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 99,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $4,382,251.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 279,942 shares in the company, valued at $12,320,247.42. This trade represents a 26.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 362,849 shares of company stock worth $15,917,463. 2.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter worth about $192,000. Wick Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Seven Fleet Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,005,000. Van Diest Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $340,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,054,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $265,379,000 after purchasing an additional 94,218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

About Exelixis

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.