Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,099,406 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 153,568 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.79% of Exelixis worth $169,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelixis Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of EXEL traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $38.64. The company had a trading volume of 415,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,175,203. The company has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.14 and a 12-month high of $40.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.82.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 23.52%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 29,314 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $1,059,407.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 779,607 shares in the company, valued at $28,174,996.98. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,561.28. This represents a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,234. 2.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EXEL shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.59.

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.