Northern Trust Corp Boosts Stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,478,460 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 506,539 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.87% of Exelixis worth $82,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Exelixis by 308.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,975,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $132,376,000 after buying an additional 3,001,204 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $94,867,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,159,395 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $105,208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613,482 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Exelixis by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,630,940 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $254,110,000 after purchasing an additional 708,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,562,790 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $52,884,000 after purchasing an additional 704,786 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EXEL. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Exelixis from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Exelixis from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total transaction of $388,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 341,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,231,886.40. This represents a 2.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.00, for a total value of $58,812.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 693,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,034,059. The trade was a 0.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 141,851 shares of company stock valued at $5,236,046. 2.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.17. 1,873,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,172,285. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.37. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.14 and a 1 year high of $40.26.

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

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.