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

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

EXEL has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer cut Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Exelixis from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Brookline Capital Management started coverage on Exelixis in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Exelixis from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.06.

Exelixis Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ EXEL traded down $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.81. 2,181,601 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,497,168. The company has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.71. Exelixis has a 12-month low of $20.01 and a 12-month high of $37.59.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. As a group, research analysts predict that Exelixis will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 41,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total value of $1,428,963.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 288,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,918,529.40. The trade was a 12.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 486,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,823,783.53. The trade was a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 111,588 shares of company stock valued at $3,981,864 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Exelixis by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by 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.