Farallon Capital Management LLC Buys 3,466,000 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 21.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,466,000 shares during the period. Exelixis accounts for about 3.3% of Farallon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Farallon Capital Management LLC owned about 7.27% of Exelixis worth $805,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter worth $2,024,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 3rd quarter valued at $517,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Exelixis by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 696,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,749,000 after acquiring an additional 108,367 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Exelixis by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,180,912 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $172,658,000 after acquiring an additional 419,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Exelixis by 153.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,462,948 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $101,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on EXEL. Barclays boosted their price target on Exelixis from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup downgraded Exelixis from a “market outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 99,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total value of $4,382,251.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 279,942 shares in the company, valued at $12,320,247.42. The trade was a 26.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 30,617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $1,337,044.39. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 976,092 shares in the company, valued at $42,625,937.64. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 362,849 shares of company stock worth $15,917,463. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $41.24 on Monday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.38 and a 52-week high of $49.62. The stock has a market cap of $10.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.71.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $598.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $609.17 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 36.29% and a net margin of 33.73%.Exelixis’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.