EULAV Asset Management Trims Stock Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• EULAV Asset Management trimmed its Exelixis stake by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 35,007 shares and leaving it with 535,043 shares worth about $23.45 million.
• Exelixis reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.87 versus the $0.75 consensus and revenue of $610.81 million, up 10% year over year.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including EVP Dana Aftab and Director Maria C. Freire, while analysts currently maintain a consensus rating of Hold with a $47.35 price target.

EULAV Asset Management lowered its holdings in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 535,043 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 35,007 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management owned approximately 0.20% of Exelixis worth $23,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Exelixis by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $805,412,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466,000 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Exelixis by 1,230.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,195,971 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $131,994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955,813 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,460,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Exelixis by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,181,359 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $379,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Exelixis by 100.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,655,069 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $109,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,087 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $52.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.41. Exelixis, Inc. has a one year low of $33.76 and a one year high of $52.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.51 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on EXEL. Zacks Research lowered shares of Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Exelixis from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Exelixis from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,187,757.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 594,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,945,209.35. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Maria C. Freire sold 20,634 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total value of $949,164.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 100,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,637,674. This represents a 16.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exelixis 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.

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