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

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its Exelixis stake by 28.2% in the first quarter, selling 278,183 shares and leaving it with 709,127 shares worth about $30.4 million.
• Exelixis reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $0.87 EPS versus $0.75 expected, with revenue of $610.8 million, up 10% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the average rating is Hold with an average target price of $49, even as several firms reiterated buy-like ratings and insiders sold shares in recent months.

Systematic Financial Management LP cut its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 28.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 709,127 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 278,183 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP owned approximately 0.28% of Exelixis worth $30,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Exelixis by 1,380.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelixis has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.00.

Exelixis Price Performance

EXEL opened at $55.65 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.76 and a 12-month high of $57.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.13.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelixis news, Director George Poste sold 60,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 118,832 shares in the company, valued at $5,431,810.72. This represents a 33.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $1,599,399.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 357,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,813,948.78. This represents a 8.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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