L2 Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

L2 Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 125,702 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,839,000. L2 Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Exelixis at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the 2nd quarter valued at $556,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter worth about $1,716,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter worth about $2,267,000. Capital Square LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter valued at about $317,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelixis Trading Up 0.9%

EXEL stock opened at $54.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.69. The company has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.44. Exelixis, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.76 and a twelve month high of $57.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $628.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.40 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.33% and a return on equity of 42.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total value of $526,511.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $862,799.14. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the sale, the director owned 284,384 shares in the company, valued at $14,375,611.20. The trade was a 1.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,549 shares of company stock worth $1,216,894. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EXEL shares. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Exelixis from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Exelixis from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.07.

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.