Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL Shares Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 85.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 291,162 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 134,397 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $15,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the second quarter valued at $1,581,991,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 4,875.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,785,373 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $804,472,000 after buying an additional 14,488,217 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $598,647,000 after buying an additional 4,477,029 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth about $106,460,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $113,951,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Exelixis from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group set a $55.00 price objective on Exelixis in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their target price on Exelixis from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.07.

Exelixis Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $58.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.84. The firm has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.42. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.76 and a 1-year high of $59.72.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $628.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.40 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.33% and a return on equity of 42.17%. Exelixis’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mary Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total transaction of $526,511.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $862,799.14. This represents a 37.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

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.