40,650 Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL Shares Purchased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management increased its Exelixis stake by 254.8% in the third quarter, purchasing 40,650 additional shares and ending the period with 56,605 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• Exelixis reported quarterly earnings of $0.91 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.85, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $628.69 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company.
• EXEL shares opened at $64.53, near their 52-week high of $65.50, despite analysts’ consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $51.50. A company director also sold 9,812 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 254.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,605 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,650 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Exelixis were worth $3,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EXEL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter worth about $1,581,991,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Exelixis by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,299,597 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $184,391,000 after acquiring an additional 39,920 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Exelixis by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,388,920 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $145,351,000 after acquiring an additional 58,149 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Exelixis by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,149,397 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $116,949,000 after acquiring an additional 504,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in Exelixis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $113,951,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelixis Price Performance

EXEL stock opened at $64.53 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.68. Exelixis, Inc. has a one year low of $36.00 and a one year high of $65.50. The stock has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.47.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $628.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.40 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.33% and a return on equity of 42.17%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXEL has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Exelixis from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $52.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.50.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, Director Mary Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total value of $526,511.92. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,799.14. This represents a 37.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing medicines for cancer and other serious diseases. The company's research programs center primarily on targeted therapies, including treatments designed to inhibit signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and progression.

Exelixis' lead product is CABOMETYX (cabozantinib), an oral medicine approved in the United States for certain patients with renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and differentiated thyroid cancer.

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