NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 61,271 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group reduced its Exelixis stake by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 61,271 shares and ending with 367,111 shares valued at about $16.1 million.
• Exelixis recently posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.87 beating estimates and revenue of $610.8 million slightly topping expectations; revenue also rose 10% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautious overall despite some higher price targets, with Exelixis carrying a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.35, while the stock recently traded above $53.

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367,111 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 61,271 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned about 0.14% of Exelixis worth $16,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EXEL. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,466,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at about $106,460,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,575,280 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,328,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 1,821.0% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,188,105 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $52,075,000 after buying an additional 1,126,256 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelixis Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $53.13 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.98 and a 200-day moving average of $44.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.41. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.76 and a 52 week high of $53.93.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $607.51 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of Exelixis 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 357,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,813,948.78. The trade was a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641 over the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Exelixis from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Exelixis from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Exelixis from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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