Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $34.89 and last traded at $34.85, with a volume of 572714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on EXEL. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Exelixis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.44.

Exelixis Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.39. The stock has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.51.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Exelixis had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $539.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $490.31 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 95,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $2,375,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,990 shares in the company, valued at $13,024,750. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total transaction of $3,398,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 721,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,622,479.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 95,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $2,375,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,024,750. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 354,020 shares of company stock worth $9,386,366 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 1.6% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 27,102,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $608,993,000 after purchasing an additional 424,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 0.4% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 15,163,066 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $340,714,000 after acquiring an additional 61,350 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 107.7% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,763,728 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $129,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,021 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 7.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,137,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $115,434,000 after acquiring an additional 349,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 12.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,281,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $73,425,000 after acquiring an additional 370,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

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.