CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Acquires 10,356 Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 207,364 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,356 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.11% of Exact Sciences worth $14,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 452 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 1st quarter worth about $55,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Trading Up 1.6 %

EXAS traded up $0.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $48.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,664,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,616,632. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.86 and a beta of 1.22. Exact Sciences Co. has a twelve month low of $40.62 and a twelve month high of $99.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.50). The firm had revenue of $637.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $624.95 million. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 7.12% and a negative net margin of 9.48%. Analysts anticipate that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy sold 1,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.15, for a total transaction of $69,473.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,156,191 shares in the company, valued at $69,544,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,498 shares of company stock worth $90,105. 1.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXAS. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.80.

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.