Oppenheimer Increases Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Price Target to $41.00

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) had its price target raised by Oppenheimer from $38.00 to $41.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the biotechnology company's stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Exelixis from $29.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stephens boosted their target price on Exelixis from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group started coverage on Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Exelixis from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.50.

Exelixis Price Performance

NASDAQ EXEL traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $36.20. 2,864,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,643,572. Exelixis has a 52 week low of $20.01 and a 52 week high of $37.59. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $34.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.19. The company has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $539.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $490.31 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 22.43%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Exelixis will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total transaction of $709,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 580,325 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,475,426.75. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 1,162 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total transaction of $36,486.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 498,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,666,873. This represents a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 314,736 shares of company stock valued at $10,849,110 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Exelixis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Exelixis by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 36,659 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 7,331 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 33,296 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,897 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 1,176.4% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 62,414 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 57,524 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Exelixis by 18.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently 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.