Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Decreases Stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 821,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 53,161 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $27,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Exelixis by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,429,252 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $979,994,000 after purchasing an additional 121,750 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth $94,867,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,462,072 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,891,000 after buying an additional 140,568 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156,996 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $71,828,000 after buying an additional 366,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Exelixis by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,702,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $44,182,000 after acquiring an additional 98,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 8,768 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.80, for a total value of $331,430.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 356,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,479,669. This trade represents a 2.40 % 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 link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total value of $388,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 341,028 shares in the company, valued at $13,231,886.40. This trade represents a 2.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $36.92 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.14 and a 12 month high of $40.02.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 23.52%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXEL has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America downgraded Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Brookline Capital Management began coverage on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.59.

About Exelixis

Exelixis, Inc, an oncology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers in the United States. The company offers CABOMETYX tablets for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who received prior anti-angiogenic therapy; and COMETRIQ capsules for the treatment of progressive and metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.