Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL - Free Report) by 45.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 252,324 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 78,740 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.09% of Exelixis worth $8,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 8.0% in the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 469,940 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $12,195,000 after acquiring an additional 34,875 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Exelixis by 124.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,855 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $46,473,000 after acquiring an additional 991,494 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Exelixis during the third quarter valued at $4,396,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Exelixis by 60.3% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 54,863 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 20,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 3rd quarter worth about $577,000. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Exelixis stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $35.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,782,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,600,901. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.16 and a 200-day moving average of $31.11. The stock has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis, Inc. has a one year low of $20.14 and a one year high of $37.59.

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 (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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Exelixis from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Brookline Capital Management began coverage on Exelixis in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Bank of America lowered Exelixis from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Exelixis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Exelixis currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.24.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. This trade represents a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total value of $2,200,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,823,783.53. This represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,210 shares of company stock worth $2,978,785 over the last three months. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.