Bellevue Group AG Trims Position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Bellevue Group AG decreased its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 9.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,903,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 204,900 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $45,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXEL. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 232.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Exelixis during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. USA Financial Formulas raised its position in Exelixis by 1,548.0% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 2,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 537.2% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,746 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EXEL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays cut shares of Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Exelixis in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.13.

Exelixis Price Performance

Exelixis stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,693,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,242,114. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.17. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.64 and a 52-week high of $24.34.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $425.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $461.04 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 10,923 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.37, for a total transaction of $233,424.51. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 338,948 shares in the company, valued at $7,243,318.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 8,287 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total transaction of $182,314.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 349,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,688,978. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jack L. Wyszomierski sold 10,923 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.37, for a total transaction of $233,424.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 338,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,243,318.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,896 shares of company stock worth $660,677. 2.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.