Essential Partners LLC Sells 11,819 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Essential Partners LLC trimmed its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 48.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,527 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 11,819 shares during the quarter. Essential Partners LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXEL. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 28,265 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Exelixis by 692.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 140,446 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,156,000 after buying an additional 122,720 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 72.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 36,288 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 15,203 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,383,820 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $60,307,000 after acquiring an additional 216,048 shares during the period. Finally, Tema Etfs LLC grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Tema Etfs LLC now owns 87,398 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,831,000 after acquiring an additional 28,139 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other news, Director George Poste sold 60,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.71, for a total value of $2,742,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 118,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,431,810.72. The trade was a 33.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dana Aftab sold 43,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.35, for a total transaction of $2,187,757.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 594,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,945,209.35. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 219,170 shares of company stock worth $10,620,641 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $40.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Exelixis from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelixis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.29.

Exelixis Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $55.97 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.76 and a 12-month high of $57.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.54. The firm has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.12. Exelixis had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 35.08%.The firm had revenue of $610.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $607.51 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Exelixis 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.