Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $23.46, but opened at $21.64. Exelixis shares last traded at $21.17, with a volume of 911,024 shares changing hands.

The biotechnology company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $425.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.04 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EXEL shares. TheStreet upgraded Exelixis from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lowered shares of Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelixis news, Director David Edward Johnson bought 190,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.70 per share, for a total transaction of $3,933,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,100,730 shares in the company, valued at $22,785,111. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Alan M. Garber sold 19,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $461,112.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $857,229.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Edward Johnson acquired 190,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.70 per share, for a total transaction of $3,933,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,100,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,785,111. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of EXEL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,364,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $80,714,000 after purchasing an additional 28,840 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,152,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $75,635,000 after buying an additional 492,613 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $73,449,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Exelixis by 9.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,884,424 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,025,000 after buying an additional 246,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 948.3% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,454,277 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,240,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Trading Down 6.5 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.22. The stock has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.54.

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.