Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC cut its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,088,021 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 718,543 shares during the period. Exelixis makes up approximately 1.4% of Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned 1.08% of Exelixis worth $102,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Exelixis in the third quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 68.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Exelixis by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,890 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 278,665 shares in the company, valued at $9,828,514.55. This trade represents a 3.46 % 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, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total value of $2,200,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,823,783.53. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,588 shares of company stock worth $3,981,864 over the last quarter. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.06.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $33.48 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.39 and its 200-day moving average is $30.51. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.01 and a twelve month high of $37.59.

Exelixis Company 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.