Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases 245,909 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group boosted its Exelixis stake by 251.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 245,909 shares to bring its total holding to 343,533 shares worth about $15.1 million.
• Exelixis reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.87 versus $0.75 expected and revenue of $610.8 million, up 10% year over year.
• Despite solid fundamentals, insiders have been selling shares and analysts remain cautious overall, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.35.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 251.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343,533 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 245,909 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Exelixis worth $15,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Exelixis by 21.6% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $805,412,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466,000 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Exelixis by 1,230.8% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,195,971 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $131,994,000 after purchasing an additional 2,955,813 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Exelixis by 20.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,181,359 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $379,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575,280 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Exelixis by 153.3% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,462,948 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $101,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in Exelixis by 100.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,655,069 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $109,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,087 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exelixis Stock Performance

EXEL stock opened at $50.15 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.38. Exelixis, Inc. has a one year low of $33.76 and a one year high of $51.63. The company's 50 day moving average price is $45.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.88.

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

Insider Activity

In other Exelixis news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,901 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $1,745,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 952,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,615,850. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Poste sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.71, for a total transaction of $2,742,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 118,832 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 209,900 shares of company stock valued at $9,874,852. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised shares of Exelixis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Exelixis from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.