Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 97,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,624 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $4,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 22,964 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 8,392 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 135.9% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 32,102 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 18,495 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the third quarter worth about $489,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Exelixis by 0.6% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 276,126 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $11,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management raised its position in Exelixis by 12.8% during the third quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management now owns 14,466 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In related news, SVP Brenda Hefti sold 18,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $821,622.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 96,512 shares in the company, valued at $4,247,493.12. This represents a 16.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 30,617 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total value of $1,337,044.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 976,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,625,937.64. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 362,849 shares of company stock valued at $15,917,463. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $41.29 on Wednesday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.38 and a 1-year high of $49.62. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.64.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $598.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $609.17 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 33.73% and a return on equity of 36.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Exelixis from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup cut shares of Exelixis from a “market outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Exelixis from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.94.

Exelixis Company Profile

Exelixis, Inc is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule therapies primarily for the treatment of cancer. Building on a platform that leverages model organism genetics and high-throughput screening, the company focuses its research on kinase inhibitors that modulate critical signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and metastasis. Exelixis’s translational research approach aims to advance novel compounds from early-stage discovery through clinical development and regulatory approval.

The company’s most recognized products include CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, and COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib) for metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.