California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stock Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Exelixis stake by 22.3% in the first quarter, adding 54,281 shares to hold 297,156 shares worth approximately $12.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.27% of the company.
• Exelixis reported quarterly earnings of $0.87 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.75, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $610.81 million. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold”, with an average price target of $49.29.
• Company insiders sold 219,170 shares worth about $10.6 million during the last quarter, including notable sales by executive Patrick Haley and director George Poste.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 297,156 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 54,281 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of Exelixis worth $12,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the first quarter worth $27,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 1,380.4% during 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 in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EXEL shares. Wall Street Zen raised Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Exelixis from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 357,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,813,948.78. The trade was a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director George Poste sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.71, for a total value of $2,742,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 118,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,431,810.72. This represents a 33.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

EXEL opened at $53.03 on Monday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.76 and a 1-year high of $57.57. The company has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $53.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.61.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The business had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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