Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 259,643 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 68.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,016 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 259,643 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $5,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Exelixis by 500.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Exelixis by 1,380.4% in the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 829 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis in the third quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $52.70 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.76 and a 12 month high of $52.98. The stock has a market cap of $13.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $46.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The firm had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $607.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 32,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.81, for a total transaction of $1,599,399.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 357,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,813,948.78. This trade represents a 8.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 284,384 shares in the company, valued at $14,375,611.20. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641 over the last three months. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upgraded Exelixis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Exelixis from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Exelixis from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Exelixis from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.35.

Exelixis Profile

Exelixis, Inc is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule therapies primarily for the treatment of cancer. Building on a platform that leverages model organism genetics and high-throughput screening, the company focuses its research on kinase inhibitors that modulate critical signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and metastasis. Exelixis’s translational research approach aims to advance novel compounds from early-stage discovery through clinical development and regulatory approval.

The company’s most recognized products include CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, and COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib) for metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.