Strs Ohio Has $2.20 Million Stake in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• Strs Ohio increased its Exelixis stake by 712.8% in the first quarter, holding 51,303 shares valued at about $2.2 million.
• Exelixis reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.87 beating estimates and revenue of $610.81 million, up 10% year over year.
• The stock has been trading near its 52-week high after rising to $56.45, while analysts currently rate it a Hold on average with a consensus target price of $47.93.

Strs Ohio raised its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 712.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,303 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,991 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Exelixis were worth $2,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $598,647,000 after buying an additional 4,477,029 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 21.6% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $805,412,000 after acquiring an additional 3,466,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $106,460,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,328,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,126,256 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXEL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Exelixis from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelixis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.93.

Exelixis Stock Up 1.7%

EXEL traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.45. The company had a trading volume of 338,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,717,560. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $50.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.10. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.76 and a 52 week high of $56.88. The company has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, Director George Poste sold 60,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the director owned 118,832 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,810.72. The trade was a 33.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,901 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $1,745,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 952,317 shares in the company, valued at $47,615,850. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Exelixis 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.

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.