Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com cut shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.76.

Exelixis Stock Up 3.6%

Exelixis stock opened at $46.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25. Exelixis has a 52-week low of $20.14 and a 52-week high of $48.85. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.68.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced 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 anticipate that Exelixis will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 1,508 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $58,812.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 693,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,034,059. The trade was a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $1,946,479.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 303,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,216,403.80. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 129,641 shares of company stock valued at $4,810,161 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXEL. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 211.3% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 769 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 616.9% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.