Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Stock Price Down 5.6% – Here’s Why

Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) was down 5.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $34.39 and last traded at $34.38. Approximately 399,288 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 2,414,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on EXEL. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Exelixis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Exelixis from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.00.

Exelixis Stock Down 5.1 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.64. The company has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Exelixis had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 22.43%. The firm had revenue of $539.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $490.31 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 1,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.40, for a total value of $36,486.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 498,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,666,873. The trade was a 0.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at $17,823,783.53. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 314,736 shares of company stock worth $10,849,110 over the last quarter. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exelixis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Exelixis by 18.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. 85.27% of the stock is 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.