New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 359,105 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 52,707 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.13% of Exelixis worth $13,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,047,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in Exelixis by 63.8% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 17,221 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 6,707 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 1st quarter valued at $1,840,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,609,786 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $58,580,000 after purchasing an additional 46,996 shares during the period. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL traded up $1.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.91. 6,040,447 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,496,550. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $41.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.68. The firm has a market cap of $12.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.28. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.86 and a 12-month high of $49.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXEL. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $43.00) on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Stephens upgraded shares of Exelixis from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.56.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 25,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total transaction of $1,154,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 693,396 shares in the company, valued at $32,021,027.28. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Amy C. Peterson sold 72,776 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.47, for a total transaction of $3,309,124.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 465,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,161,419.71. This trade represents a 13.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 458,113 shares of company stock valued at $21,024,817 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.82% of the company's stock.

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.