Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,200,000 shares, a decrease of 5.3% from the November 30th total of 11,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exact Sciences news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy acquired 19,500 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $51.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,074,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,159,707.85. This trade represents a 1.85 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $893,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EXAS. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Exact Sciences by 1,153.2% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 187,807 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,388,000 after acquiring an additional 172,821 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 67.5% during the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the third quarter valued at $2,083,000. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in Exact Sciences by 239.8% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 78,589 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 55,459 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Exact Sciences by 59.5% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 335,705 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,868,000 after buying an additional 125,192 shares in the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXAS traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.19. The stock had a trading volume of 798,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,575,772. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Exact Sciences has a 52 week low of $40.62 and a 52 week high of $79.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.03 and a beta of 1.24.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $708.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.80 million. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Exact Sciences will post -1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EXAS. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exact Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.94.

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.