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

Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.38.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on EXAS shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Exact Sciences from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In related news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $65,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $958,090. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 24.0% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 48,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,311,000 after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $724,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $906,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 163,841 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,922,000 after acquiring an additional 56,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the second quarter worth $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Shares of EXAS stock opened at $68.36 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $61.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.79 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.17. Exact Sciences has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $79.62.

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

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.