Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 94,283 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 479.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 94,283 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $3,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXEL. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Exelixis by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Exelixis from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 29,314 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $1,059,407.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 779,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,174,996.98. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction 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 approximately $11,216,403.80. This represents a 14.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234. Insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $36.39 on Wednesday. Exelixis, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.14 and a twelve month high of $40.02. The company has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.72 and its 200 day moving average is $33.46.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 24.04%. Equities research analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.