China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,863 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,641 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Exelixis were worth $1,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter valued at about $246,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Exelixis by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 126,842 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,290,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in Exelixis by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 429,690 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $11,028,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Exelixis by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 143,547 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,725,000 after buying an additional 6,355 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in Exelixis by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 11,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Price Performance

NASDAQ EXEL traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,805,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,024,927. The firm's 50 day moving average is $26.65 and its 200 day moving average is $24.05. Exelixis, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.20 and a twelve month high of $29.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.54.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.44. Exelixis had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 17.38%. The firm had revenue of $637.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.21 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of 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 target on shares of Exelixis from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.57.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 95,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $2,375,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,024,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Exelixis news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 95,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $2,375,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,024,750. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $515,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,325 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,256,081.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 327,858 shares of company stock valued at $8,640,129. 2.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.