Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.94.

Several research analysts have weighed in on EXAS shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced their price objective on Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Exact Sciences stock opened at $57.10 on Wednesday. Exact Sciences has a 12-month low of $40.62 and a 12-month high of $79.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.80 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.59.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.01). Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 6.17% and a negative net margin of 7.95%. The business had revenue of $708.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.80 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Exact Sciences will post -1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy acquired 19,500 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $51.35 per share, with a total value of $1,001,325.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,074,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,159,707.85. This trade represents a 1.85 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Exact Sciences

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Exact Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $163,896,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,105,970 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $211,104,000 after buying an additional 7,873 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 10.9% in the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,494,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $169,924,000 after buying an additional 245,980 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in Exact Sciences by 25.1% during the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,449,465 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $98,738,000 after buying an additional 290,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 91.6% during the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,400,086 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $59,154,000 after acquiring an additional 669,438 shares during the period. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exact Sciences Company Profile

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.