Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given New $36.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $30.00 to $36.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the biotechnology company's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Exelixis from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.24.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of Exelixis stock traded up $0.51 on Wednesday, reaching $35.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,854,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,601,778. The stock has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis has a fifty-two week low of $20.14 and a fifty-two week high of $37.59. The business's 50-day moving average price is $34.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.88.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 22.43%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Exelixis news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,823,783.53. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 278,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,828,514.55. This represents a 3.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,588 shares of company stock valued at $3,981,864 over the last ninety days. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,429,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $979,994,000 after purchasing an additional 121,750 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,169,847 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $272,056,000 after purchasing an additional 67,470 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Exelixis by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,630,940 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $254,110,000 after purchasing an additional 708,312 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 308.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,975,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $132,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001,204 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,967,005 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $132,101,000 after purchasing an additional 810,857 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is 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.