Nuveen LLC Takes $123.31 Million Position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $123.31 million in Exelixis, acquiring 3,339,930 shares, which constitutes about 1.21% of the company.
• Exelixis has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.06.
• Insider transactions indicate significant selling activity, with executives reducing their holdings, including a 34,387-share sale by EVP Patrick J. Haley, valued at over $1.5 million.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,339,930 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $123,310,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 1.21% of Exelixis as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cooper Financial Group grew its position in Exelixis by 2.6% in the first quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 21,933 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 40.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,572,189 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $205,725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,948 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the first quarter valued at $1,839,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Exelixis by 4.7% during the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,342 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $423,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 18,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.74, for a total transaction of $805,136.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $913,781.20. This represents a 46.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Tomas J. Heyman sold 4,544 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.29, for a total transaction of $201,253.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,438,096.30. This trade represents a 12.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,304 shares of company stock valued at $2,846,164. Corporate insiders own 2.82% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of EXEL stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.31. 2,370,582 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,080,024. The company's 50-day moving average price is $42.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.07. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.29. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.12 and a 12 month high of $49.62.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The biotechnology company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 27.01%. The firm had revenue of $568.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $574.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EXEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Exelixis from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Exelixis from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.06.

Exelixis 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.