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

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,420,000 shares, an increase of 13.2% from the August 31st total of 14,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,770,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $958,090. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exact Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EXAS. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 65.6% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 452 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Exact Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 92.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXAS traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,296,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,662,825. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.12. Exact Sciences has a 12 month low of $40.62 and a 12 month high of $79.62. The company has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.97 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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 the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.28. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 4.97% and a negative net margin of 6.70%. The business had revenue of $699.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $690.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.45) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Exact Sciences will post -0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EXAS. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $91.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.77.

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.