Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL Shares Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 694,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 136,976 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $29,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Exelixis by 37.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 335,606 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,394,000 after acquiring an additional 91,767 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 44.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 115,592 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,958,000 after purchasing an additional 35,498 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 15.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 372,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,981,000 after purchasing an additional 49,101 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the first quarter valued at approximately $653,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the first quarter valued at approximately $497,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $56.00 on Wednesday. Exelixis, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.76 and a fifty-two week high of $57.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.76. The stock has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.44.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted 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 net margin of 35.08% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The company had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on Exelixis from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $29,945,209.35. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 9,812 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $491,973.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,201.06. This represents a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.