NFJ Investment Group LLC Takes $18.39 Million Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 338,045 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,393,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 1st quarter valued at $476,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,539,421 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $111,303,000 after acquiring an additional 28,265 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter valued at about $2,658,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter valued at about $1,410,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,117,936 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $48,999,000 after acquiring an additional 495,247 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In related news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 284,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,375,611.20. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total value of $526,511.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,799.14. This trade represents a 37.90% 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 67,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,404,652 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on EXEL shares. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Exelixis from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Exelixis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group set a $55.00 target price on Exelixis in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Exelixis from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.07.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Exelixis stock opened at $53.69 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.76 and a fifty-two week high of $57.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.53. The stock has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $628.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.40 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 42.17% and a net margin of 35.33%.The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.