Virtus Advisers LLC Buys New Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,769 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $804,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXEL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,581,991,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $598,647,000 after purchasing an additional 4,477,029 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at $106,460,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Exelixis in the second quarter valued at $107,803,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in Exelixis by 100.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,655,069 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,654,000 after buying an additional 1,328,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Price Performance

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $53.69 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.53. The company has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.44. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.76 and a 1 year high of $57.57.

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

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In other news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $198,408.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 284,384 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,187,757.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 594,741 shares in the company, valued at $29,945,209.35. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,000 shares of company stock worth $3,404,652. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXEL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Exelixis from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Exelixis from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Exelixis from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.07.

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.