Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $71.51, but opened at $55.70. Exact Sciences shares last traded at $51.14, with a volume of 4,851,214 shares trading hands.

The medical research company reported ($0.21) EPS 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 net margin of 6.70% and a negative return on equity of 4.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Exact Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.06.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In other Exact Sciences news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $893,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXAS. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 838.1% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 394 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Exact Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Vestor Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Stock Down 2.7 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a PE ratio of -55.45 and a beta of 1.27.

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.