Short Interest in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Decreases By 9.5%

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,090,000 shares, a drop of 9.5% from the January 15th total of 14,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company's stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at $17,823,783.53. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total value of $425,884.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. This represents a 28.65 % 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

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 616.9% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXEL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America downgraded Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Exelixis from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.24.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,490,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,187. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.23. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $20.14 and a fifty-two week high of $37.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 24.04%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Exelixis will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.