78,937 Shares in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL Purchased by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 78,937 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,295,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Exelixis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,539,421 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $111,303,000 after acquiring an additional 28,265 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter worth $2,658,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter valued at $1,410,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the second quarter valued at $18,393,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelixis Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Exelixis stock opened at $54.55 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.69. The stock has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.44. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.76 and a 12-month high of $57.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. Exelixis had a net margin of 35.33% and a return on equity of 42.17%. The firm had revenue of $628.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Exelixis’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on EXEL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Exelixis in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Exelixis from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.07.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In related news, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 9,812 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total transaction of $491,973.68. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $806,201.06. This trade represents a 37.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 3,925 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.55, for a total value of $198,408.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 284,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,375,611.20. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,549 shares of company stock worth $1,216,894. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Company Profile

Exelixis, Inc is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule therapies primarily for the treatment of cancer. Building on a platform that leverages model organism genetics and high-throughput screening, the company focuses its research on kinase inhibitors that modulate critical signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and metastasis. Exelixis’s translational research approach aims to advance novel compounds from early-stage discovery through clinical development and regulatory approval.

The company’s most recognized products include CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, and COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib) for metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.