Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Boosts Stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,203 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 134.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,302 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 8,208 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,046,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,562,790 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,884,000 after acquiring an additional 704,786 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Exelixis by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 36,659 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 7,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Exelixis by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 505,289 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,826,000 after acquiring an additional 22,225 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelixis Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $46.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.68. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.14 and a 12-month high of $48.85.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 23.52%. On average, equities analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $58,812.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 693,181 shares in the company, valued at $27,034,059. This trade represents a 0.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $1,946,479.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 303,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,216,403.80. This trade represents a 14.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 129,641 shares of company stock worth $4,810,161. Insiders own 2.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Exelixis from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Exelixis from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.76.

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.