49,849 Shares in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 49,849 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,840,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,429,252 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $979,994,000 after purchasing an additional 121,750 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 8,169,847 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $272,056,000 after buying an additional 67,470 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,630,940 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $254,110,000 after acquiring an additional 708,312 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 308.1% in 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 period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,967,005 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $132,101,000 after acquiring an additional 810,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exelixis 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 value 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 trade represents a 46.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 sale, the director owned 358,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,464,225.38. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 458,113 shares of company stock valued at $21,024,817. Company insiders own 2.85% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

EXEL traded down $2.57 on Monday, reaching $43.58. 2,258,034 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,496,016. The company's 50 day moving average is $41.88 and its 200-day moving average is $37.71. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.28. Exelixis, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.86 and a twelve month high of $49.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on EXEL. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $47.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stephens raised Exelixis from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Exelixis from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Exelixis from $45.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.56.

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.