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Investing.com - H.C. Wainwright raised its price target on Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) to $53.00 from $47.00 on Monday, while maintaining a Buy rating on the stock. The company, currently valued at nearly $12 billion, has demonstrated remarkable performance with a 94% return over the past year. According to InvestingPro analysis, the stock shows strong potential with analyst targets ranging from $29 to $60.
The price target increase follows Exelixis’s announcement last week of positive top-line results from its STELLAR-303 phase 3 pivotal trial, which showed that zanzalintinib combined with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) significantly improved overall survival compared to Stivarga (regorafenib) in patients with previously treated non-microsatellite instability-high metastatic colorectal cancer. The company’s robust financial health, evidenced by an excellent InvestingPro Financial Health score and impressive 96.8% gross margin, positions it well to capitalize on these clinical achievements.
The results came from the final analysis of one of the dual primary endpoints conducted by the Independent (LON:IOG) Data Monitoring Committee. The trial will continue to its planned final analysis for the second primary endpoint of overall survival in patients without liver metastases.
H.C. Wainwright doubled its probability estimate for approval of the zanzalintinib-Tecentriq combination to 80% from 40% following these results, noting that regorafenib had previously demonstrated median overall survival of 6.4 and 7.7 months in the Phase 3 CORRECT and CORRELATE trials, respectively.
Exact figures from the STELLAR-303 trial were not disclosed in Exelixis’s announcement, according to H.C. Wainwright’s research note. The company maintains a perfect Piotroski Score of 9, indicating strong operational efficiency. For deeper insights into Exelixis’s financial metrics and growth potential, investors can access comprehensive analysis through InvestingPro, which offers exclusive access to detailed research reports and real-time financial data.
In other recent news, Exelixis has reported promising results from its STELLAR-303 phase 3 trial, which tested the combination of its experimental drug zanzalintinib with atezolizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The trial demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall survival compared to the control treatment, regorafenib, marking a pivotal success for the zanzalintinib program. As a result, Truist Securities raised its price target for Exelixis from $43 to $55, maintaining a Buy rating and forecasting potential peak sales exceeding $1 billion in the third-line colorectal cancer setting. Similarly, Citizens JMP analyst Silvan Tuerkcan increased the price target to $50 from $47, highlighting the potential for zanzalintinib to become a second major product for the company. Despite these positive developments, UBS maintained a Neutral rating with a $38 price target, expressing caution about Exelixis’s pipeline diversification and potential valuation risks. Stifel also kept a Hold rating and a $38 price target, acknowledging the unexpected positive trial results. William Blair maintained an outperform rating, underscoring the commercial opportunity presented by the successful trial endpoint. Exelixis plans to discuss the trial findings with regulatory authorities and present detailed results at an upcoming medical conference.
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