China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,553 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the third quarter worth $30,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Exelixis by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Exelixis during the third quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Price Performance

Exelixis stock opened at $33.15 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.01 and a 12 month high of $37.59. The company has a market cap of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.68 and its 200-day moving average is $30.08.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Exelixis had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $539.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $490.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Exelixis’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on EXEL. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Exelixis from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Exelixis from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total transaction of $2,200,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at $17,823,783.53. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 41,588 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total transaction of $1,428,963.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 288,665 shares in the company, valued at $9,918,529.40. This trade represents a 12.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 208,574 shares of company stock valued at $7,376,374. Company insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Company Profile

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.