California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stake in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• CalPERS increased its Exelixis stake by 7.1% in the first quarter, adding 36,751 shares and bringing its total holding to 555,750 shares worth about $23.8 million.
• Exelixis delivered solid quarterly results, reporting EPS of $0.87 versus the $0.75 consensus and revenue of $610.8 million, up 10% year over year.
• Insiders sold shares while analysts remained mixed: directors and executives sold stock in recent months, and the stock currently carries a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $48.80.

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 555,750 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,751 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.22% of Exelixis worth $23,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 1,380.4% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 829 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelixis news, Director Maria C. Freire sold 20,634 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $949,164.00. Following the sale, the director owned 100,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,637,674. The trade was a 16.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $1,599,399.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 357,638 shares in the company, valued at $17,813,948.78. The trade was a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Trading Down 2.0%

EXEL stock opened at $54.98 on Thursday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.76 and a 12-month high of $57.57. The stock has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.42. The business's 50-day moving average is $52.97 and its 200 day moving average is $47.05.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The business had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EXEL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Exelixis from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Exelixis from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Exelixis from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.80.

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.

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