Navellier & Associates Inc. Purchases 113,879 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 365.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,058 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 113,879 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. owned about 0.05% of Exelixis worth $5,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of EXEL. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Exelixis by 308.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,975,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $132,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001,204 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $94,867,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Exelixis by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,484,395 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $82,730,000 after buying an additional 1,907,167 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Exelixis by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,159,395 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $105,208,000 after buying an additional 1,613,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $30,321,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In other news, Director Tomas J. Heyman sold 4,544 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.29, for a total value of $201,253.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,470 shares in the company, valued at $1,438,096.30. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 7,535 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $324,683.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 358,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,464,225.38. The trade was a 2.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 458,113 shares of company stock worth $21,024,817. 2.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of EXEL traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.60. The stock had a trading volume of 3,571,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,573,794. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.79. Exelixis, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.80 and a twelve month high of $49.62. The firm has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on EXEL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Exelixis from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Exelixis from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Exelixis from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Exelixis from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.33.

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.