Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 25.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,956 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,615 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $3,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EXEL. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Exelixis by 81.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 43,181 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 19,407 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,466,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $54,153,000 after purchasing an additional 68,133 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 38,458 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 17,483 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 134.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Exelixis Price Performance

Shares of EXEL opened at $44.89 on Monday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.76 and a 1-year high of $49.62. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.46.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biotechnology company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.20. Exelixis had a net margin of 33.73% and a return on equity of 36.29%. The firm had revenue of $598.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $609.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Exelixis’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EXEL. UBS Group set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Exelixis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $46.00 to $43.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.94.

Insider Transactions at Exelixis

In related news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 47,918 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,132,351.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 616,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,416,717. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Christopher J. Senner sold 30,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $1,337,044.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 976,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,625,937.64. This trade represents a 3.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 362,849 shares of company stock valued at $15,917,463 over the last quarter. 2.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Exelixis Profile

Exelixis, Inc is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule therapies primarily for the treatment of cancer. Building on a platform that leverages model organism genetics and high-throughput screening, the company focuses its research on kinase inhibitors that modulate critical signaling pathways involved in tumor growth and metastasis. Exelixis’s translational research approach aims to advance novel compounds from early-stage discovery through clinical development and regulatory approval.

The company’s most recognized products include CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), approved for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, and COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib) for metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.