Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Cuts Stock Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 95,518 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,052 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $5,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Exelixis during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 1,380.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 829 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $58.53 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.33. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.76 and a 52-week high of $59.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.42.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.06. Exelixis had a return on equity of 42.17% and a net margin of 35.33%.The company had revenue of $628.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Exelixis’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Exelixis from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Exelixis from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group set a $55.00 price objective on Exelixis in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 9,812 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.66, for a total value of $526,511.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $862,799.14. This represents a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

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.