Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes $35.46 Million Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 651,800 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,464,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Exelixis during the second quarter worth approximately $1,581,991,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,658,388 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $598,647,000 after buying an additional 4,477,029 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,460,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $107,803,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted 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 worth $109,654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,087 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 9,812 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $491,973.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,201.06. The trade was a 37.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 23,549 shares of company stock valued at $1,216,894 in the last ninety days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exelixis Trading Down 1.5%

Exelixis stock opened at $55.26 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.76 and a 12 month high of $57.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.52 and its 200-day moving average is $48.96. The company has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EXEL shares. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Exelixis from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has a consensus 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.