Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL) Up 6.9% — Should I Acquire Shares Here?
Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL) is pushing decisively higher on Friday, last trading at $70.74 on the NASDAQ, a $4.54 gain over the prior close of $66.20. The advance carries the stock into fresh territory. EXEL now trades roughly 4.8% above its 52-week high of $67.52, a level it set only on October 29, 2026. A stock that was already at its peak heading into the session has now cleared it by a meaningful margin, and that breakout reflects real momentum behind the name.
Volume stands at approximately 648,695 shares with the session still underway, compared with a 90-day average of roughly 2.40 million. That puts turnover at about 27% of a typical full day so far.
Why Exelixis, Inc. Price is Moving Higher
The catalyst is a clean quarterly beat. After the bell on October 29, Exelixis reported Q3 non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.94 against a $0.89 consensus estimate, along with revenue of $658.7 million versus the $646.51 million expected. Revenue climbed 10.2% from $597.8 million a year earlier, and non-GAAP EPS rose from $0.78. On a GAAP basis, diluted EPS reached $0.85, up from $0.69, while net income grew to $218.1 million from $193.6 million. The engine behind all of it remains cabozantinib. U.S. product revenue for the franchise hit $604.9 million, up from $542.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Shares are up as much as 8.1% on Friday as investors priced in the results.
This rally belongs to EXEL. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) was down 0.71% at 10:05 a.m. ET, so the gain is running against a softer biotech tape, not riding one. Larger Health Care names moved up, with Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) gaining 4.48% and Amgen Inc. (AMGN) adding 2.09%. Neither came close to EXEL's move, which points squarely to the earnings report as the driver.
Guidance added further support. Management held its 2026 revenue outlook at $2.50 billion to $2.55 billion. It also cut its effective tax-rate forecast to 16%–18% from the prior 21%–23%, a shift that should flow directly to the bottom line. That revenue range excludes any contribution from zanzalintinib, the company's next-generation pipeline asset, so a successful launch would add to the current numbers. The FDA extended its review of zanzalintinib plus atezolizumab for previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer in September after requesting updated safety and efficacy data, and it has set a target decision date of March 3, 2027. Exelixis also expects topline results from its STELLAR-304 trial in the first quarter of 2027. Those two events give the stock a well-defined set of near-term catalysts beyond the core cabozantinib business.
What is the Exelixis, Inc. Rating - Should I Buy?
Weiss Ratings assigns EXEL a A rating. Current recommendation is Buy. That top-tier rating reflects a company with strong fundamentals across nearly every dimension Weiss measures, and Thursday's report supports it.
EXEL is rated Excellent on the Growth, Efficiency, Solvency, and Total Return indices, and these strengths reinforce one another. Revenue growth of 10.63% from a single dominant franchise shows that cabozantinib keeps adding ground years into its commercial life, which is the core of the Growth Index rating. The Efficiency Index rating rests on a 35.33% profit margin and a 44.39% return on equity. Those are exceptional figures for a mid-cap oncology company funding a late-stage pipeline at the same time. The cash those margins produce also supports the Excellent Solvency Index rating, since Exelixis can fund zanzalintinib's development and potential launch from internal cash generation. The Total Return Index rating reflects what holders have actually experienced. The stock set a 52-week high on October 29 and has now pushed through it. With trailing EPS of $3.18 and a forward P/E of 20.79, the valuation still looks reasonable relative to the earnings growth underneath it.
The Volatility Index is where the profile is a step short of perfect, rated Good rather than Excellent. Today's 6.86% earnings-driven jump is welcome for shareholders, but it shows the stock can reprice sharply in a single session. Upcoming binary events, namely the March 3, 2027 FDA decision on zanzalintinib and the STELLAR-304 readout, could produce similar swings in either direction. That event risk is typical of a biotech whose next growth leg depends on regulatory outcomes, and it is the main reason this dimension sits one notch below the others.
Within the Health Care sector, Exelixis ranks above some of the largest names in the industry like Amgen Inc. (AMGN, B+), Eli Lilly and Company (LLY, B), AbbVie Inc. (ABBV, B), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, B-), and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO, B-). A company of EXEL's size outranking these much larger peers on risk-adjusted fundamentals shows how strong its current profile is.
About Exelixis, Inc.
Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL) is a Health Care company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers. Headquartered in Alameda, California, the company built its business around cabozantinib, a small-molecule inhibitor of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases involved in tumor growth, blood vessel formation, and immune suppression. Cabozantinib is marketed as CABOMETYX tablets, approved across indications including advanced renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and differentiated thyroid cancer. It is also sold as COMETRIQ capsules for progressive, metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.
The commercial model pairs direct U.S. sales with global partnerships. Exelixis markets cabozantinib itself in the United States, which generates the large majority of its revenue. Ipsen holds commercialization rights in most markets outside the U.S. and Japan, and Takeda covers Japan. These partners provide royalty and milestone income without requiring Exelixis to build an international sales operation. The company also earns royalties on COTELLIC (cobimetinib), developed in collaboration with Genentech.
Exelixis's competitive position rests on deep oncology expertise, a franchise widely used in combination regimens with immune checkpoint inhibitors, and a pipeline designed to extend that leadership. Zanzalintinib, a next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is the centerpiece of that strategy. It is being studied across colorectal, kidney, and neuroendocrine cancers, including the STELLAR-304 trial. The company's in-house discovery platform and its strong cash generation from cabozantinib give it the resources to advance multiple programs at once.
Investor Outlook
Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL) carries a Weiss Rating of A (Buy). A Q3 beat, reaffirmed revenue guidance, and a lower tax-rate outlook have pushed the stock to new highs on company-specific strength. Investors should watch the FDA's March 3, 2027 decision on zanzalintinib for previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer, the STELLAR-304 topline readout expected in the first quarter of 2027, and whether U.S. cabozantinib revenue keeps growing from its $604.9 million quarterly level. See full rankings of all A-rated Health Care stocks inside the Weiss Stock Screener.
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