Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Trading Down 4.3% – Here’s Why

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) shares traded down 4.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $55.92 and last traded at $56.01. 652,498 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 1,890,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.94.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.07 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.12.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $708.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.80 million. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 6.17% and a negative net margin of 7.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exact Sciences

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy bought 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $51.35 per share, with a total value of $1,001,325.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,074,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,159,707.85. The trade was a 1.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $821,000. Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,819,000. Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,426,000. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its position in Exact Sciences by 91.6% during the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,400,086 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $59,154,000 after buying an additional 669,438 shares during the period. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,608,000. Institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

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.