Vestcor Inc Cuts Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Vestcor Inc decreased its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,306 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 4,483 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Exelixis by 8.0% in the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 469,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,195,000 after buying an additional 34,875 shares in the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter worth about $4,396,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 134.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,302 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 8,208 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter worth about $573,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Exelixis by 48.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 232,041 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,021,000 after purchasing an additional 75,489 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $41.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $1,946,479.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 303,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,216,403.80. This trade represents a 14.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 29,314 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 779,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,174,996.98. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock valued at $5,177,234. Company insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Price Performance

Exelixis stock opened at $36.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.43. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.14 and a 1-year high of $40.02. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exelixis 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.