Smith Group Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 9,150 Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,150 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position 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 worth $63,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,335 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,231 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 71,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Exelixis by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Exelixis Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $32.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.01 and a 12-month high of $37.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.99.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $539.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $490.31 million. Exelixis had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 22.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EXEL shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Monday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Monday. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Exelixis from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.06.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In other news, Director George Poste sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $1,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 169,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,680. The trade was a 15.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 41,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total value of $1,428,963.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 288,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,918,529.40. This represents a 12.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 288,574 shares of company stock worth $10,102,874. 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.