Aviva PLC Sells 7,699 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Aviva PLC reduced its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,228 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 7,699 shares during the period. Aviva PLC's holdings in Exelixis were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Exelixis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXEL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Exelixis from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $36.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.59.

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Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 owns 30,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,060,561.28. This trade represents a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total value of $388,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 341,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,231,886.40. This represents a 2.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,234 over the last ninety days. 2.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Exelixis Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:EXEL traded up $0.70 on Tuesday, reaching $36.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,312,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,170,964. The company has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.08. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.14 and a 1-year high of $40.02.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 24.04%. Sell-side analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Exelixis

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.