Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stock Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its stake in Exelixis by 30.5% in Q4 to 486,022 shares (about $21.99M), and institutional investors now own roughly 85.27% of the company with other large funds (Dimensional, Allianz, Candriam) also boosting positions.
• Exelixis beat quarterly EPS ($0.94 vs. $0.74 expected) while revenue of $598.7M slightly missed estimates, and analysts project about 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• There has been significant insider selling—362,849 shares (~$15.9M) in the last 90 days—and Wall Street shows mixed sentiment with a consensus "Hold" rating and an average target price of $47.00.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 486,022 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 113,623 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.18% of Exelixis worth $21,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,024,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $517,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Exelixis by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 696,104 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,749,000 after acquiring an additional 108,367 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Exelixis by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,180,912 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $172,658,000 after acquiring an additional 419,596 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,462,948 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $101,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,520 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $44.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $43.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.77. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.76 and a 52-week high of $49.62.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.20. Exelixis had a net margin of 33.73% and a return on equity of 36.29%. The firm had revenue of $598.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $609.17 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Exelixis's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on EXEL shares. Bank of America cut shares of Exelixis from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Exelixis from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Exelixis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 47,918 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,132,351.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 616,106 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,416,717. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 99,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total value of $4,382,251.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 279,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,320,247.42. This represents a 26.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 362,849 shares of company stock valued at $15,917,463. 2.82% 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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