Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $85.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EXAS. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. BTIG Research cut shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Benchmark lowered shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim cut shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Exact Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

EXAS opened at $101.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.66, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.12. Exact Sciences has a 1-year low of $38.81 and a 1-year high of $101.87.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.11. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 1.75% and a negative net margin of 34.19%.The business had revenue of $850.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $810.42 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. Exact Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Exact Sciences will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 2,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total transaction of $200,288.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,567,549.44. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jacob A. Orville sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,775. This represents a 17.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,858 shares of company stock worth $695,289. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $157,805,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Exact Sciences by 105.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,493,085 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $245,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310,139 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Exact Sciences by 6,072,588.9% during the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,186,168 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $119,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,186,132 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Exact Sciences by 120.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,128,958 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $135,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707,287 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Exact Sciences by 189.5% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,145,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $113,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,086 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

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.