Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $37.64 and last traded at $37.51, with a volume of 509533 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EXEL shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelixis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.24.

Exelixis Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.46.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,561.28. This represents a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total value of $2,200,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 486,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,823,783.53. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Exelixis by 8.0% during the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 469,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,195,000 after purchasing an additional 34,875 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,855 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,473,000 after purchasing an additional 991,494 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Exelixis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,396,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Exelixis by 60.3% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 54,863 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 20,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the third quarter valued at $577,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.