AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 370,199 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 12.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,281,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 370,199 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 1.08% of Exelixis worth $73,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Exelixis by 107.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,763,728 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $129,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,021 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Exelixis by 948.3% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,454,277 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $58,240,000 after buying an additional 2,220,150 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Exelixis by 148.2% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,267,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $53,817,000 after buying an additional 1,354,062 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the first quarter worth about $22,455,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Exelixis by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,152,755 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $75,635,000 after acquiring an additional 492,613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 95,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $2,375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,024,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 95,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,024,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.79, for a total value of $515,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 630,325 shares in the company, valued at $16,256,081.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 327,858 shares of company stock valued at $8,640,129 over the last three months. 2.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Exelixis in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.67.

Exelixis Price Performance

EXEL opened at $25.96 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a one year low of $18.64 and a one year high of $27.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.48.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $637.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.21 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 17.38%. On average, analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelixis 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.