Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 13,290,000 shares, a decrease of 17.7% from the February 13th total of 16,150,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EXEL shares. Brookline Capital Management started coverage on Exelixis in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Exelixis from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.59.

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Exelixis Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:EXEL traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.96. The company had a trading volume of 7,318,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,512. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $35.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.82. Exelixis has a 12-month low of $20.14 and a 12-month high of $40.02.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts expect that Exelixis will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. This trade represents a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total value of $388,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 341,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,231,886.40. The trade was a 2.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,234 over the last quarter. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 616.9% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Exelixis

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.