Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 29.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 628,601 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 142,579 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $26,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 81.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,181 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 19,407 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Exelixis by 4.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,466,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,153,000 after purchasing an additional 68,133 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Exelixis by 83.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 38,458 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 17,483 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Exelixis by 134.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EXEL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Exelixis from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial downgraded Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Exelixis from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.87.

Exelixis Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $53.96 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.80. The stock has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.42. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.76 and a 1-year high of $55.91.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The business had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelixis news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 284,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,375,611.20. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,187,757.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 594,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,945,209.35. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641. 2.60% of the stock is owned by 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.