EAM Investors LLC Acquires Shares of 177,786 Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

EAM Investors LLC bought a new position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 177,786 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,920,000. Exelixis accounts for about 0.8% of EAM Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. EAM Investors LLC owned about 0.06% of Exelixis as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 stake in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Exelixis by 68.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 303,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,216,403.80. This represents a 14.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 30,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,060,561.28. This represents a 28.65 % 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 valued at $5,177,234. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Exelixis stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $35.97. The stock had a trading volume of 490,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,870. The firm has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.36. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.14 and a 12-month high of $40.02.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.