Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Norges Bank bought a new position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,428,922 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,460,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 500.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1,380.4% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 829 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $52.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.96 and its 200 day moving average is $44.53. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.76 and a 1-year high of $52.98.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on EXEL. Truist Financial upgraded Exelixis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Exelixis from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Exelixis from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelixis news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 284,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,375,611.20. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 952,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,615,850. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.