Systematic Financial Management LP Cuts Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP trimmed its Exelixis stake by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 987,310 shares worth about $43.3 million.
• Recent insider selling included Director George Poste and SVP Brenda Hefti, with insiders selling 209,900 shares over the last 90 days worth nearly $9.9 million.
• Exelixis reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with EPS of $0.87 versus $0.75 expected and revenue of $610.8 million, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold with an average target price of $47.35.

Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 987,310 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 107,936 shares during the quarter. Exelixis comprises about 1.0% of Systematic Financial Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Systematic Financial Management LP owned 0.37% of Exelixis worth $43,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Exelixis by 500.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Exelixis by 1,380.4% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 829 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXEL has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Exelixis from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered Exelixis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Exelixis from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Exelixis from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.35.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other news, Director George Poste sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 118,832 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,810.72. This trade represents a 33.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brenda Hefti sold 6,625 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.21, for a total value of $332,641.25. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 106,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,360,520.02. This represents a 5.84% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,900 shares of company stock valued at $9,874,852. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of Exelixis stock opened at $50.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.10 and a 200-day moving average of $43.84. The company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.38. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.76 and a 1-year high of $51.63.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $607.51 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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.