Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 72,798 Shares of Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Exelixis, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXEL) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 794,643 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 72,798 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.28% of Exelixis worth $20,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 107.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,763,728 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $129,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,021 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exelixis by 124.0% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,790,855 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,473,000 after purchasing an additional 991,494 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in Exelixis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,979,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Exelixis by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 27,102,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $608,993,000 after purchasing an additional 424,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Exelixis by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,281,578 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $73,425,000 after acquiring an additional 370,199 shares during the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Exelixis news, EVP Patrick J. Haley sold 41,588 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.36, for a total value of $1,428,963.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 288,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,918,529.40. The trade was a 12.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Hessekiel sold 25,000 shares of Exelixis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total transaction of $709,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 580,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,475,426.75. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 339,736 shares of company stock valued at $11,508,610. Company insiders own 2.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Exelixis in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim upped their target price on Exelixis from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Exelixis from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Exelixis in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.19.

Exelixis Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXEL opened at $33.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.36 and a 200 day moving average of $27.47. Exelixis, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.20 and a 12-month high of $36.97.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $539.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $490.31 million. Exelixis had a net margin of 22.43% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Exelixis, Inc. will post 1.69 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.