Citigroup Inc. Sells 365,552 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. $EXEL

Citigroup Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 52.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,279 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 365,552 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.12% of Exelixis worth $13,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Exelixis by 1,230.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,195,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $131,994,000 after buying an additional 2,955,813 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Exelixis during the second quarter valued at $122,099,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 120.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 3,047,222 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $134,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,665,110 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 42.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,262,643 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $231,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 153.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,462,948 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $101,720,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,520 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Exelixis from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Exelixis from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised Exelixis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on Exelixis from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dana Aftab sold 47,918 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,132,351.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 616,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,416,717. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bob Oliver sold 30,250 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.81, for a total value of $1,325,252.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,267.20. This trade represents a 58.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 362,849 shares of company stock valued at $15,917,463 over the last three months. 2.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Exelixis Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of EXEL opened at $44.06 on Friday. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.38 and a 12-month high of $49.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.44.

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

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.