Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 890,747 Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 92.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 890,747 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $3,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Exact Sciences by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,436 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $474,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 13,625 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 14,447 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 26,153 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in Exact Sciences by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 39,300 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of EXAS stock opened at $44.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.57. The company has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.94 and a beta of 1.14. Exact Sciences Co. has a 12 month low of $39.97 and a 12 month high of $72.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $713.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $701.45 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 37.29% and a negative return on equity of 5.29%. Sell-side analysts predict that Exact Sciences Co. will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EXAS shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Exact Sciences from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.25.

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.