Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP Purchases New Shares in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Seizert Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 8.0% during the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 469,940 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,195,000 after purchasing an additional 34,875 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Exelixis by 124.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 991,494 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Exelixis by 60.3% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 54,863 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 20,641 shares during the period. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter worth about $4,396,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis during the third quarter worth about $577,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Exelixis from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Exelixis from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.24.

Exelixis Trading Up 5.2 %

EXEL stock opened at $34.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.75. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.14 and a 1-year high of $37.59. The firm has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.53.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 22.43%. On average, analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total transaction of $2,200,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,823,783.53. The trade was a 10.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 41,588 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total value of $1,428,963.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 288,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,918,529.40. This trade represents a 12.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,588 shares of company stock valued at $3,981,864 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

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.