Commerce Bank Trims Position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 144,688 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 43,610 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank owned approximately 0.05% of Exelixis worth $4,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lowered Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.59.

Exelixis Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ EXEL traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $36.78. 2,624,905 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,177,082. Exelixis, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.14 and a fifty-two week high of $40.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.43. The company has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,060,561.28. This trade represents a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $1,946,479.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 303,310 shares in the company, valued at $11,216,403.80. The trade was a 14.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,234. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Company 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.