Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Lowers Stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,088,021 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 718,543 shares during the quarter. Exelixis comprises about 1.4% of Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $102,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EXEL. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 124.0% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,855 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,473,000 after purchasing an additional 991,494 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in shares of Exelixis in the third quarter worth about $14,979,000. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,267,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Exelixis by 263.1% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 483,064 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,536,000 after buying an additional 350,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth $7,455,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on EXEL. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Exelixis from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.06.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total value of $2,200,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at $17,823,783.53. The trade was a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total value of $352,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 278,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,828,514.55. The trade was a 3.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 111,588 shares of company stock worth $3,981,864. 2.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $33.48 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.01 and a 1 year high of $37.59. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.51.

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.