Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 1,113,916 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs increased its stake in Exelixis by 111.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,113,916 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 2,115,456 shares worth about $92.7 million.
• Exelixis shares were up 2.4% and opened at $52.99, near their 52-week high of $53.28. The stock has gained support from strong recent earnings, including quarterly EPS of $0.87 versus the $0.75 consensus estimate.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with several firms recently raising targets or ratings, but the overall consensus still sits at Hold with an average price target of $47.35.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 111.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,115,456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,113,916 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.79% of Exelixis worth $92,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $517,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 696,104 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,749,000 after acquiring an additional 108,367 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,180,912 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $172,658,000 after acquiring an additional 419,596 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 204,211 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,434,000 after acquiring an additional 32,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 187,154 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $8,224,000 after acquiring an additional 71,987 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Stock Up 2.4%

Exelixis stock opened at $52.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $47.38 and its 200 day moving average is $44.68. Exelixis, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.76 and a twelve month high of $53.28.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $610.81 million for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelixis news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 357,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,813,948.78. This trade represents a 8.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the sale, the director owned 284,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,375,611.20. This represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EXEL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Truist Financial raised Exelixis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Exelixis from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.35.

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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