Moran Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Moran Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,086 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,860 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Exelixis by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 469,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,195,000 after purchasing an additional 34,875 shares during the period. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter valued at about $4,396,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the third quarter worth about $577,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Exelixis by 134.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,302 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 8,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $573,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Trading Down 5.7 %

EXEL opened at $36.93 on Wednesday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.14 and a 12 month high of $40.02. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.29. The company has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 23.52%. Equities research analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In related news, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 29,314 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $1,059,407.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 779,607 shares in the company, valued at $28,174,996.98. This represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bob Oliver sold 18,647 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.25, for a total value of $694,600.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,248,396.50. The trade was a 35.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,234 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on EXEL shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America cut Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $35.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.24.

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.