Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 2,044 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 139,217 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 2,044 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $4,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXEL. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 136,178 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,534,000 after buying an additional 19,372 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Exelixis by 26.2% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 29,113 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 6,051 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,972,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Exelixis by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,853 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $721,000. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Brookline Capital Management assumed coverage on Exelixis in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.59.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Exelixis stock opened at $36.96 on Monday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.14 and a 12-month high of $40.02. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.61 and its 200-day moving average is $32.91. The stock has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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, sell-side analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total value of $425,884.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. This represents a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $1,946,479.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 303,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,216,403.80. This trade represents a 14.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,343 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,234. 2.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.