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Exelixis (EXEL) Surges 25.4% so Far in 2023: Here's Why
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Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL - Free Report) shares surged 25.4% in the year so far against the industry’s decline of 5.2%.
Shares soared after Exelixis announced a share repurchase program of $550 million on Mar 20. The program will complete before the end of 2023. Investors cheered the company’s effort to return shareholders' value through this repurchase program.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Meanwhile, Exelixis’ fourth-quarter results were decent. Demand continues to grow based on sales volume driven by lead drug Cabometyx.
In particular, the approval of Cabometyx for patients with advanced RCC as a first-line treatment in combination with Bristol Myers’ (BMY - Free Report) Opdivo (nivolumab) has fueled sales of the drug.
Bristol-Myers’ Opdivo is one of the leading revenue generators for the company and is approved for various oncology indications.
Per the company, Cabometyx maintained its status as the leading TKI for RCC in both the first-line I/O-TKI market and the second-line monotherapy segment.
Cabometyx is also approved for previously treated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and previously treated radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).
The capsule formulation of cabozantinib is approved as Cometriq for progressive, metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC).
In addition, the pipeline progress has been impressive as the company strives to expand Cabometyx’s label and concurrently develop its portfolio beyond lead drug Cabometyx.
Exelixis is striving hard to develop its portfolio beyond Cabometyx with promising candidates - zanzalintnib, XB002, XL102 and CBX-12.
In October 2022, Exelixis announced the expansion of its June 2021 Clinical Trial Collaboration and Supply Agreement with Bristol-Myers to include the use of the fixed-dose combination of Opdivo and relatlimab in the ongoing phase Ib STELLAR-002 clinical trial, which is evaluating zanzalintinib (formerly XL092) in combination with multiple immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced solid tumors.
Initial results from the ongoing dose-escalation stage of JEWEL-101, a phase I study evaluating XB002, a next-generation tissue factor-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) were promising. Data showed that XB002 was well-tolerated across multiple dose levels and pharmacokinetic analyses showed that XB002 remains stable after infusion with low levels of free payload in the circulation. The dose-escalation stage of the study is currently ongoing. It will progress to the cohort-expansion stage once the recommended dose and/or maximum tolerated dose for XB002 have been determined. Exelixis plans to accelerate the development of XB002 both as a monotherapy and in combination with immuno-oncology (IO) and other targeted therapies across a wide range of tumor types in 2023.
Data from the ongoing dose-escalation stage of QUARTZ-101, a phase I study evaluating XL102, a potent, selective, irreversible and orally bioavailable small molecule cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) inhibitor, showed XL102 was well-tolerated at evaluated dose levels with a pharmacokinetic analysis showing rapid absorption of XL102 and an elimination half-life of 5-9 hours.
In November 2022, Exelixis and Cybrexa entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement providing Exelixis the right to acquire CBX-12, a clinical-stage, first-in-class PDC that utilizes Cybrexa’s proprietary alphalex technology to enhance the delivery of exatecan to tumor cells.
The successful development of additional drugs will broaden its portfolio and reduce its dependence on the lead drug, Cabometyx.
Competition is stiff in the RCC space and capturing additional market share might become challenging for Exelixis.
Some well-placed stocks in the overall healthcare sector are Novo Nordisk (NVO - Free Report) and Ligand Therapeutics (LGND - Free Report) , both carrying a Zacks Rank #1 at present.
In the past 30 days, estimates for Novo Nordisk’s 2023 earnings per share have risen from $4.20 to $4.43 and estimates for 2024 have gone up by 29 cents to $5.19.
Ligand’s earnings per share estimates for 2023 increased to $4.32 from $3.30 in the past 30 days. LGND beat earnings estimates in one of the last four reported quarters and missed the remaining three.
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Exelixis (EXEL) Surges 25.4% so Far in 2023: Here's Why
Exelixis, Inc. (EXEL - Free Report) shares surged 25.4% in the year so far against the industry’s decline of 5.2%.
Shares soared after Exelixis announced a share repurchase program of $550 million on Mar 20. The program will complete before the end of 2023. Investors cheered the company’s effort to return shareholders' value through this repurchase program.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Meanwhile, Exelixis’ fourth-quarter results were decent. Demand continues to grow based on sales volume driven by lead drug Cabometyx.
In particular, the approval of Cabometyx for patients with advanced RCC as a first-line treatment in combination with Bristol Myers’ (BMY - Free Report) Opdivo (nivolumab) has fueled sales of the drug.
Bristol-Myers’ Opdivo is one of the leading revenue generators for the company and is approved for various oncology indications.
Per the company, Cabometyx maintained its status as the leading TKI for RCC in both the first-line I/O-TKI market and the second-line monotherapy segment.
Cabometyx is also approved for previously treated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and previously treated radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).
The capsule formulation of cabozantinib is approved as Cometriq for progressive, metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC).
Exelixis, Inc. Price and Consensus
Exelixis, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Exelixis, Inc. Quote
In addition, the pipeline progress has been impressive as the company strives to expand Cabometyx’s label and concurrently develop its portfolio beyond lead drug Cabometyx.
Exelixis is striving hard to develop its portfolio beyond Cabometyx with promising candidates - zanzalintnib, XB002, XL102 and CBX-12.
In October 2022, Exelixis announced the expansion of its June 2021 Clinical Trial Collaboration and Supply Agreement with Bristol-Myers to include the use of the fixed-dose combination of Opdivo and relatlimab in the ongoing phase Ib STELLAR-002 clinical trial, which is evaluating zanzalintinib (formerly XL092) in combination with multiple immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced solid tumors.
Initial results from the ongoing dose-escalation stage of JEWEL-101, a phase I study evaluating XB002, a next-generation tissue factor-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) were promising. Data showed that XB002 was well-tolerated across multiple dose levels and pharmacokinetic analyses showed that XB002 remains stable after infusion with low levels of free payload in the circulation. The dose-escalation stage of the study is currently ongoing. It will progress to the cohort-expansion stage once the recommended dose and/or maximum tolerated dose for XB002 have been determined. Exelixis plans to accelerate the development of XB002 both as a monotherapy and in combination with immuno-oncology (IO) and other targeted therapies across a wide range of tumor types in 2023.
Data from the ongoing dose-escalation stage of QUARTZ-101, a phase I study evaluating XL102, a potent, selective, irreversible and orally bioavailable small molecule cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) inhibitor, showed XL102 was well-tolerated at evaluated dose levels with a pharmacokinetic analysis showing rapid absorption of XL102 and an elimination half-life of 5-9 hours.
In November 2022, Exelixis and Cybrexa entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement providing Exelixis the right to acquire CBX-12, a clinical-stage, first-in-class PDC that utilizes Cybrexa’s proprietary alphalex technology to enhance the delivery of exatecan to tumor cells.
The successful development of additional drugs will broaden its portfolio and reduce its dependence on the lead drug, Cabometyx.
Competition is stiff in the RCC space and capturing additional market share might become challenging for Exelixis.
Exelixis currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Some well-placed stocks in the overall healthcare sector are Novo Nordisk (NVO - Free Report) and Ligand Therapeutics (LGND - Free Report) , both carrying a Zacks Rank #1 at present.
In the past 30 days, estimates for Novo Nordisk’s 2023 earnings per share have risen from $4.20 to $4.43 and estimates for 2024 have gone up by 29 cents to $5.19.
Ligand’s earnings per share estimates for 2023 increased to $4.32 from $3.30 in the past 30 days. LGND beat earnings estimates in one of the last four reported quarters and missed the remaining three.