Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 23,511 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its Exelixis stake by 12.2% in the first quarter, buying 23,511 additional shares and bringing its total to 215,698 shares worth about $9.25 million.
• Exelixis reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.87 versus the $0.75 consensus and revenue of $610.8 million, up 10% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average target price of $48.80, while insiders have sold shares in recent months, including director Jack L. Wyszomierski and EVP Patrick J. Haley.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 12.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 215,698 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,511 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of Exelixis worth $9,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 81.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,181 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 19,407 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,466,779 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $54,153,000 after acquiring an additional 68,133 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Exelixis by 83.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 38,458 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,420,000 after acquiring an additional 17,483 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Exelixis by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 2,764 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelixis Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $55.68 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.76 and a 12-month high of $57.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's 50 day moving average is $52.49 and its 200 day moving average is $46.73.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Exelixis from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Exelixis from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelixis news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 284,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,375,611.20. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $1,599,399.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 357,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,813,948.78. This represents a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641 over the last ninety days. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Exelixis Company 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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