Brokerages Set Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) Target Price at $74.47

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.47.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EXAS shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Exact Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Craig Hallum dropped their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

EXAS opened at $53.39 on Tuesday. Exact Sciences has a 1 year low of $40.62 and a 1 year high of $79.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.98. The firm has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of -45.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.93.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.01). Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 6.17% and a negative net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $708.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.80 million. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Exact Sciences will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy bought 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $51.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,325.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,074,191 shares in the company, valued at $55,159,707.85. This represents a 1.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was 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 12,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $893,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Exact Sciences by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,261 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 10,937 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 92.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 838.1% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 394 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 6.2% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,118 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.