Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Stock Holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,233 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 1,451 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Exelixis were worth $2,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exelixis by 6.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,462,072 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,891,000 after buying an additional 140,568 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Exelixis by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,156,996 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,828,000 after acquiring an additional 366,141 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Exelixis by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,702,590 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $44,182,000 after acquiring an additional 98,000 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Exelixis by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,562,790 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,884,000 after acquiring an additional 704,786 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in Exelixis by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,168,391 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,320,000 after purchasing an additional 77,599 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exelixis Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $36.84 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.70 and a 200 day moving average of $33.14. The firm has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.57. Exelixis, Inc. has a one year low of $20.14 and a one year high of $40.02.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biotechnology company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Exelixis had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 24.04%. On average, equities analysts predict that Exelixis, Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary C. Beckerle sold 12,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.88, for a total value of $425,884.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 30,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,561.28. This trade represents a 28.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 52,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.98, for a total transaction of $1,946,479.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 303,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,216,403.80. This represents a 14.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,343 shares of company stock worth $5,177,234. Corporate insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Exelixis from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Exelixis from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Exelixis from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Exelixis from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.59.

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.