Short Interest in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Grows By 23.4%

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,150,000 shares, an increase of 23.4% from the January 31st total of 13,090,000 shares. Approximately 5.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Exelixis Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:EXEL traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,838,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,747. Exelixis has a 1 year low of $20.14 and a 1 year high of $39.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America lowered shares of Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer lowered Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Exelixis from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.24.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $1,946,479.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 303,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,216,403.80. This represents a 14.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of Exelixis 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 sale, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. The trade was a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,343 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,234 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 616.9% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 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.