Exelixis Upgraded to Strong-Buy by StockNews.com

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL – Get Free Report) has received an upgrade from equities research analysts at StockNews.com, moving from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Additionally, several other analysts have recently made updates regarding Exelixis. Morgan Stanley has changed its rating from "equal weight" to "overweight" and has increased its target price for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a report dated January 27. Similarly, Truist Financial raised their price target from $42.00 to $43.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating in the same timeframe. Piper Sandler also increased its price target from $37.00 to $38.00, giving the stock an "overweight" rating on February 12. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating with a price target of $40.00 in a report released on February 13. Lastly, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective from $30.00 to $36.00, assigning a "hold" rating on February 12.

Currently, among equity research analysts, there is one sell rating, seven hold ratings, twelve buy ratings, and one strong buy rating for the company. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.24.

Exelixis Price Performance

As of Wednesday, shares of Exelixis opened at $34.20. The company has reported a one-year low of $20.14 and a one-year high of $37.59. Exelixis currently boasts a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-to-growth (P/E/G) ratio of 0.63, and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average stands at $34.17, while the 200-day moving average is $31.08.

Exelixis recently reported its quarterly earnings on February 11, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The company recorded a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. Analysts project that Exelixis will report 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, executive vice president Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of Exelixis on November 29, with an average sale price of $36.67, totaling approximately $2,200,200. Following this sale, Hessekiel's ownership in the company decreased to 486,059 shares valued at around $17,823,783.53. Another executive, Patrick J. Haley, sold 10,000 shares on November 22 at an average price of $35.27, resulting in a total of $352,700. Haley now holds 278,665 shares valued at approximately $9,828,514. Company insiders currently own 2.85% of Exelixis stock.

Institutional Investors' Activity

Various institutional investors have made adjustments to their holdings in Exelixis recently. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis worth about $25,000 in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC significantly increased its holdings by 616.9%, now owning 889 shares after acquiring an additional 765 shares recently. USA Financial Formulas also acquired a new stake valued at around $32,000, while Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings by 62.8% to own 967 shares worth $32,000. Additionally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake worth approximately $39,000. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.27% of Exelixis stock.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc. is focused on the development and commercialization of innovative cancer therapies. The company specializes in creating treatments for challenging cancers and offers CABOMETYX tablets, which are used to treat patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who have previously received anti-angiogenic therapy, as well as COMETRIQ capsules for progressive and metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.

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