7,019 Shares in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) Bought by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,019 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Exelixis by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,890 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 4.9% in the 4th 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 boosted its stake in Exelixis by 0.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Trading Down 0.4 %

EXEL stock opened at $36.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.14 and a 12 month high of $40.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.22.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its 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 net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 23.52%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXEL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $35.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total transaction of $388,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 341,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,231,886.40. This trade represents a 2.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bob Oliver sold 18,647 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.25, for a total transaction of $694,600.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,248,396.50. This represents a 35.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234 over the last quarter. Company 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.