Ruffer LLP Has $2.04 Million Stock Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP cut its stake in Exelixis by 43.1% in Q4, selling 35,196 shares and ending the quarter with 46,500 shares valued at about $2.04 million.
• Exelixis beat EPS expectations—$0.94 vs. $0.74—but missed revenue estimates with $598.7 million vs. $609.2 million expected; the company has a market cap of ~$11.9 billion and a P/E of 16.9.
• There has been notable insider selling (362,849 shares worth ~$15.9M over three months), even as institutional ownership is high (85.27%) and major funds like Farallon, AQR and Invesco have increased positions.

Ruffer LLP cut its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 43.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 35,196 shares during the quarter. Ruffer LLP's holdings in Exelixis were worth $2,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EXEL. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Exelixis by 21.6% during the third 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Exelixis by 20.7% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,181,359 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $379,190,000 after buying an additional 1,575,280 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Exelixis by 7.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,960,525 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $246,170,000 after buying an additional 394,897 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Exelixis by 11.2% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,180,912 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $172,658,000 after buying an additional 419,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Exelixis by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,330,771 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $145,988,000 after buying an additional 134,800 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelixis Price Performance

EXEL stock opened at $46.85 on Thursday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.76 and a 52-week high of $49.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.42.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $598.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $609.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Exelixis from a "market outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial raised shares of Exelixis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, January 5th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.00.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 99,574 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $4,382,251.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 279,942 shares in the company, valued at $12,320,247.42. This represents a 26.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 30,617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $1,337,044.39. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 976,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,625,937.64. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 362,849 shares of company stock valued at $15,917,463. 2.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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