Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 41.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 933,675 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 657,315 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Exelixis worth $31,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EXEL. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Exelixis by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,890 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 58,159 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,937,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelixis Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of EXEL stock opened at $36.95 on Wednesday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.14 and a 1-year high of $40.26. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $36.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.50. The company has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $58,812.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 693,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,034,059. This represents a 0.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. The trade was a 28.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 141,851 shares of company stock worth $5,236,046 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Exelixis from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.59.

About Exelixis

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.

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