Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL Position Increased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 19.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 204,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,737 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $8,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EXEL. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,024,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in Exelixis by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 696,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,749,000 after buying an additional 108,367 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Exelixis by 153.3% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,462,948 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $101,720,000 after buying an additional 1,490,520 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the second quarter worth $321,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXEL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Exelixis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Exelixis from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 34,187 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.88, for a total transaction of $1,431,751.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,230 shares of company stock worth $3,046,923. 2.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Exelixis Trading Up 2.9%

EXEL stock opened at $43.92 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.38 and a 52 week high of $49.62. The company has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.95.

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