75,300 Shares in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 75,300 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,230,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Exelixis by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $805,412,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $598,647,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,029 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,054,743 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $265,379,000 after purchasing an additional 94,218 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,259,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $186,705,000 after buying an additional 78,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,206,656 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $184,378,000 after buying an additional 995,949 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on EXEL shares. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Exelixis from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Exelixis from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.87.

Exelixis Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $54.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.41. Exelixis, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.76 and a fifty-two week high of $55.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.50.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.51 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Exelixis news, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 9,812 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $491,973.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,201.06. This represents a 37.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 284,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,375,611.20. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

About Exelixis

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.