Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,243 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,662 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $3,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Luminist Capital LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 2,740.0% in the 2nd quarter. Luminist Capital LLC now owns 710 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Steph & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter worth $44,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 940.4% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Exelixis by 43.1% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group set a $41.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 48,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.50, for a total value of $2,056,277.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 664,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,253,065. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 34,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.88, for a total value of $1,431,751.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 245,235 shares of company stock valued at $10,490,600. Corporate insiders own 2.82% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $43.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.40. Exelixis, Inc. has a one year low of $31.90 and a one year high of $49.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.14.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.10. Exelixis had a return on equity of 31.06% and a net margin of 29.63%.The firm had revenue of $597.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. Exelixis’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

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.