Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 25.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 725,968 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 254,400 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $24,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,396,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Exelixis by 134.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,302 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 8,208 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth $994,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 704,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 36,659 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 7,331 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exelixis news, Director Bob Oliver sold 18,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.25, for a total transaction of $694,600.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,514 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,396.50. This represents a 35.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $11,216,403.80. The trade was a 14.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 Price Performance

Shares of Exelixis stock opened at $34.13 on Wednesday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.14 and a 1-year high of $40.02. The company has a market capitalization of $9.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.00 and a 200-day moving average of $33.76.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.59.

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.