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

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 407,749 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 5,837 shares during the period. Exelixis comprises 0.8% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Exelixis were worth $13,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EXEL. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Exelixis in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exelixis during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Exelixis by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,361 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Exelixis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Exelixis by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,890 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXEL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Exelixis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Exelixis from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Brookline Capital Management started coverage on shares of Exelixis in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.06.

Exelixis Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EXEL opened at $33.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.53. Exelixis, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.01 and a 1 year high of $37.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.54 and a 200-day moving average of $30.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 10,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.27, for a total transaction of $352,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 278,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,828,514.55. The trade was a 3.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 60,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 486,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,823,783.53. This trade represents a 10.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,588 shares of company stock valued at $3,981,864 over the last 90 days. 2.85% of the stock is currently 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.