Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 4,994 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,240 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,994 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $1,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Exelixis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 7,995.2% in the 3rd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Exelixis by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,970 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Exelixis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $100,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,577 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Alan M. Garber sold 19,205 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now directly owns 35,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $857,229.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director David Edward Johnson purchased 190,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.70 per share, with a total value of $3,933,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,100,730 shares in the company, valued at $22,785,111. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Alan M. Garber sold 19,205 shares of the company’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 $857,229.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EXEL. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Exelixis from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays downgraded Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Exelixis from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exelixis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.29.

Exelixis Stock Performance

EXEL opened at $23.53 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.08 and a 52-week high of $24.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $22.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.17.

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

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.