Prudential PLC Trims Stock Position in Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Prudential PLC lessened its position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,868 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 13,585 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $3,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 1,380.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 829 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, Director Sue Gail Eckhardt sold 9,812 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,201.06. This represents a 37.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total value of $2,187,757.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 594,741 shares in the company, valued at $29,945,209.35. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 219,170 shares of company stock valued at $10,620,641. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $52.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.41. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.76 and a 52-week high of $52.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.53.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $610.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.51 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exelixis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.35.

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.