Cwm LLC Raises Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Cwm LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,715 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,885 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $12,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,501,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $805,412,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466,000 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1,230.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,195,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $131,994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955,813 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 20.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,575,280 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 153.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,462,948 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $101,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 100.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,655,069 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,087 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Price Performance

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $44.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.45.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.20. Exelixis had a return on equity of 36.29% and a net margin of 33.73%.The business had revenue of $598.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $609.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 47,918 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,132,351.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 616,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,416,717. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 99,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $4,382,251.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 279,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,320,247.42. This represents a 26.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 362,849 shares of company stock worth $15,917,463. 2.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on EXEL. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup cut shares of Exelixis from a “market outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.94.

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.