Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 15.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 372,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,101 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $15,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Exelixis by 1,380.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 829 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on EXEL. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Exelixis from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,187,757.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 594,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,945,209.35. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total value of $1,599,399.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 357,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,813,948.78. This trade represents a 8.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $55.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.42. Exelixis, Inc. has a one year low of $33.76 and a one year high of $57.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.46.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The company had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Exelixis’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.