Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. by 233.4% during the first quarter, owning approximately $51.7 million worth of the stock after acquiring nearly 1 million additional shares.
• Several hedge funds, including Invesco and Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec, have also significantly boosted their stakes in Exelixis during the fourth quarter, with institutional investors now owning 85.27% of the company's shares.
• Exelixis reported earnings of $0.75 per share in its latest quarter, surpassing estimates, but its revenue fell by 10.8% year-over-year, indicating challenges despite beating earnings expectations.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 233.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,400,270 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 980,319 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.51% of Exelixis worth $51,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EXEL. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Exelixis by 308.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,975,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $132,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001,204 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Exelixis by 330.4% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,484,395 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $82,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907,167 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,321,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,967,005 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $132,101,000 after purchasing an additional 810,857 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,630,940 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $254,110,000 after buying an additional 708,312 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXEL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Exelixis from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Stephens upgraded Exelixis from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Exelixis from $29.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on Exelixis from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.44.

Exelixis Stock Performance

EXEL opened at $37.26 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.21 and a fifty-two week high of $49.62. The firm's fifty day moving average is $42.93 and its 200 day moving average is $38.90. The stock has a market cap of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.29.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The biotechnology company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $568.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $574.36 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 27.01% and a return on equity of 27.47%. Exelixis's revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $1,154,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 693,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,021,027.28. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Amy C. Peterson sold 72,776 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.47, for a total transaction of $3,309,124.72. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 465,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,161,419.71. The trade was a 13.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 456,605 shares of company stock valued at $20,966,005 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.82% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Profile

Exelixis, Inc, an oncology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers in the United States. The company offers CABOMETYX tablets for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who received prior anti-angiogenic therapy; and COMETRIQ capsules for the treatment of progressive and metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EXEL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.