Vestcor Inc Raises Stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc significantly increased its stake in Exelixis, Inc. by 166.7% in the first quarter, purchasing an additional 92,211 shares to reach a total of 147,517 shares valued at approximately $5.4 million.
• Exelixis reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.75 for the recent quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $0.63, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 10.8%.
• Insider sales were notable as executives sold a combined total of 456,605 shares in the last quarter, with sales valued at over $20.9 million, indicating reduced positions by key company insiders.

Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 166.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,517 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 92,211 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc owned approximately 0.05% of Exelixis worth $5,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in Exelixis by 32.7% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 41,066 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 10,117 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Exelixis by 64.2% in the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 21,674 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 8,472 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Exelixis by 18.3% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 483,738 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,860,000 after purchasing an additional 74,806 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 37,669.8% during the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 16,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 16,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 74.5% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 187,097 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,908,000 after acquiring an additional 79,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EXEL shares. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group set a $38.00 target price on shares of Exelixis and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $50.00 target price on shares of Exelixis and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.44.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.26. 5,660,958 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,398,983. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.21 and a 52-week high of $49.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.93 and a 200-day moving average of $38.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.29.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The biotechnology company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 27.01%. The firm had revenue of $568.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $574.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $1,154,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 693,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,021,027.28. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 126,383 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.96, for a total value of $6,061,328.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 446,459 shares in the company, valued at $21,412,173.64. This trade represents a 22.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 456,605 shares of company stock worth $20,966,005. 2.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Exelixis Profile

Exelixis, Inc, an oncology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers in the United States. The company offers CABOMETYX tablets for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who received prior anti-angiogenic therapy; and COMETRIQ capsules for the treatment of progressive and metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.