Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Grows Stock Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 486,022 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,623 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $21,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Exelixis by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,181,359 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $379,190,000 after buying an additional 1,575,280 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,960,525 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $246,170,000 after acquiring an additional 394,897 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,180,912 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $172,658,000 after acquiring an additional 419,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,722,334 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,265 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $44.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.42. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.76 and a 1 year high of $49.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.77.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $598.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $609.17 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 33.73% and a return on equity of 36.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EXEL. UBS Group set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Exelixis from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “market outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.00.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 47,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,132,351.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 616,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,416,717. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 67,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total value of $2,951,265.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 381,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,620,636.16. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 362,849 shares of company stock worth $15,917,463 over the last 90 days. 2.82% of the stock is currently 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.