Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 12.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 215,698 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,511 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $9,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EXEL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Exelixis by 0.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 59,420 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. RHS Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. RHS Financial LLC now owns 12,619 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cim LLC now owns 35,397 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 5,354 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 357,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,813,948.78. The trade was a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total transaction of $198,408.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 284,384 shares in the company, valued at $14,375,611.20. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXEL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Exelixis from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.80.

Exelixis Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $55.68 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.76 and a 12-month high of $57.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The company had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share 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.