American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,415,705 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 299,269 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.53% of Exelixis worth $58,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Exelixis by 95.1% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 599 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Luminist Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 2,740.0% during the second quarter. Luminist Capital LLC now owns 710 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Exelixis by 940.4% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EXEL shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Exelixis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Exelixis from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Exelixis from a “market outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.94.

Exelixis Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $41.28 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.38 and a 52 week high of $49.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.52. The company has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelixis news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 30,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $1,337,044.39. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 976,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,625,937.64. The trade was a 3.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 47,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,132,351.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 616,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,416,717. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 362,849 shares of company stock valued at $15,917,463 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.82% of the company’s stock.

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.