Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,589 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 592 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,890 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,050 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 58,159 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,937,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of EXEL opened at $36.65 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.53. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.14 and a 12-month high of $40.02.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 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 transaction of $425,884.80. Following 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $11,216,403.80. This trade represents a 14.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234. Insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EXEL shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.59.

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.