Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys 22,624 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,624 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,624 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $4,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Exelixis by 81.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,181 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 19,407 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,466,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $54,153,000 after buying an additional 68,133 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 83.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 38,458 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 17,483 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 2,764 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on EXEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup cut Exelixis from a “market outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Exelixis from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.94.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 67,814 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $2,951,265.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 381,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,620,636.16. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brenda Hefti sold 18,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,247,493.12. This trade represents a 16.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 362,849 shares of company stock worth $15,917,463 in the last quarter. 2.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Exelixis Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $41.29 on Wednesday. Exelixis, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.38 and a twelve month high of $49.62. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.64.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $598.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $609.17 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 33.73% and a return on equity of 36.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS 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.