Banco Santander S.A. Purchases New Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 24,295 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Exelixis by 124.0% during the third 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Exelixis by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,562,790 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $52,884,000 after buying an additional 704,786 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in Exelixis in the third quarter valued at approximately $14,979,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,046,000. Finally, Burney Co. bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,267,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Brookline Capital Management began coverage on Exelixis in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Exelixis from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Exelixis from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America downgraded Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $39.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.24.

Exelixis Trading Up 1.0 %

EXEL stock opened at $38.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.12. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.14 and a 1-year high of $39.30. The firm has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a net margin of 24.04% and a return on equity of 23.52%. On average, analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.80, for a total value of $388,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 341,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,231,886.40. The trade was a 2.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total value of $425,884.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,060,561.28. The trade was a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Corporate 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.