Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given New $29.00 Price Target at Barclays

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) had its target price raised by Barclays from $25.00 to $29.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the biotechnology company's stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.24.

Exelixis Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL traded up $0.51 on Thursday, hitting $35.00. 2,854,977 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,601,778. Exelixis has a 52 week low of $20.14 and a 52 week high of $37.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.93. The company has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last issued 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total transaction of $2,200,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at $17,823,783.53. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 278,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,828,514.55. This trade represents a 3.46 % 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 Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Exelixis by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,890 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 17,203 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 5.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,335 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 58,159 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,937,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently 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.