AlphaQuest LLC Sells 14,718 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 49.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,115 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 14,718 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in EXEL. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Exelixis by 62.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Exelixis in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Exelixis in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position 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. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total transaction of $425,884.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. The trade was a 28.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of Exelixis 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 303,310 shares in the company, valued at $11,216,403.80. This trade represents a 14.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234. 2.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exelixis Stock Performance

NASDAQ EXEL opened at $37.20 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.25 and a 200-day moving average of $32.33. The stock has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.14 and a 52-week high of $40.02.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued 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 return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 24.04%. As a group, analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Exelixis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.24.

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.