Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Given "Buy" Rating at HC Wainwright

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by HC Wainwright in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. HC Wainwright's price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.29% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on EXEL. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Exelixis from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Brookline Capital Management started coverage on Exelixis in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.24.

Exelixis Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Exelixis stock traded up $0.51 on Thursday, hitting $35.00. 2,854,977 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,601,778. The firm's 50-day moving average is $34.19 and its 200 day moving average is $30.93. The stock has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis has a 52-week low of $20.14 and a 52-week high of $37.59.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that Exelixis will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total transaction of $2,200,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,823,783.53. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 121,750 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,169,847 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $272,056,000 after acquiring an additional 67,470 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,630,940 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $254,110,000 after purchasing an additional 708,312 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 worth $132,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,967,005 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $132,101,000 after purchasing an additional 810,857 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.