Meritage Portfolio Management Boosts Stock Position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 422,676 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,815 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $10,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXEL. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 52,622 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 11,767 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Exelixis by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,974,291 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,363,000 after acquiring an additional 203,163 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Exelixis during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Exelixis by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 164,200 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,939,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of Exelixis stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.71. 755,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,245,552. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.08 and a 12 month high of $24.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.73 and its 200 day moving average is $22.17. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.54.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $479.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $481.23 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet raised shares of Exelixis from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Exelixis from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exelixis

In other Exelixis news, Director David Edward Johnson purchased 190,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.70 per share, with a total value of $3,933,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,100,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,785,111. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director David Edward Johnson acquired 190,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.70 per share, for a total transaction of $3,933,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,100,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,785,111. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alan M. Garber sold 19,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total value of $461,112.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $857,229.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.