Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 477,200 Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 48.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 510,704 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 477,200 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.28% of Exact Sciences worth $21,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EXAS. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Exact Sciences by 65.6% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 452 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Exact Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 92.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the first quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 48.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXAS opened at $70.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Exact Sciences Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $79.62. The company has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.10 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.78.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical research company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.28. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 6.70% and a negative return on equity of 4.97%. The firm had revenue of $699.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $690.02 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.45) earnings per share. Exact Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Exact Sciences Co. will post -0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,687 shares in the company, valued at $958,090. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. BTIG Research reduced their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $91.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.14.

About Exact Sciences

Exact Sciences Corporation provides cancer screening and diagnostic test products in the United States and internationally. The company offers Cologuard, a non-invasive stool-based DNA screening test to detect DNA and hemoglobin biomarkers associated with colorectal cancer and pre-cancer. It also provides Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score Test; Oncotype DX Breast DCIS Score Test; Oncotype DX Colon Recurrence Score Test; OncoExTra Test for tumor profiling for patients with advanced, metastatic, refractory, relapsed, or recurrent cancer; and Covid-19 testing services.