Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $17.05 Million Position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 511,879 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $17,046,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.18% of Exelixis as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Exelixis by 308.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,975,241 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $132,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001,204 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $94,867,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 104.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,159,395 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $105,208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613,482 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Exelixis by 82.1% during the 4th 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Exelixis by 1,637.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 746,286 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $24,851,000 after purchasing an additional 703,343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of EXEL traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $36.78. 2,624,905 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,177,082. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.14 and a 52 week high of $40.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $36.53 and a 200-day moving average of $34.43. The stock has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exelixis has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total value of $425,884.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,060,561.28. This trade represents a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total value of $1,946,479.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 303,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,216,403.80. This represents a 14.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234 over the last 90 days. 2.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Exelixis 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.