Empowered Funds LLC Has $14.39 Million Stock Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 37.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 335,606 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 91,767 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $14,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EXEL. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 4,477,029 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at $106,460,000. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 100.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,655,069 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $109,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,087 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 1,821.0% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,188,105 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $52,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,115,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $92,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $1,599,399.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 357,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,813,948.78. This represents a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 34,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $1,745,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 952,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,615,850. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Exelixis Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $55.27 on Thursday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.76 and a 12 month high of $57.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.46. The firm has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.42.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EXEL shares. Barclays increased 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Exelixis from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.29.

Exelixis 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.