Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,539,863 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 328,754 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.89% of Exelixis worth $84,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of EXEL. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth $241,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $479,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 113.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 27,908 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 14,857 shares during the period. EAM Global Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,615,000. Finally, EAM Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth about $5,920,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXEL. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 341,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,231,886.40. This represents a 2.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 29,314 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $1,059,407.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 779,607 shares in the company, valued at $28,174,996.98. The trade was a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234 in the last three months. 2.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,709,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,176,661. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $36.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.52. Exelixis, Inc. has a one year low of $20.14 and a one year high of $40.02. The stock has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 24.04%. On average, research analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current 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.