EXACT Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 14,082,706 shares, a growth of 11.2% from the February 15th total of 12,660,709 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,649,545 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 14.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.
Shares of EXAS traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $38.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,357,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,005,030. EXACT Sciences has a 1-year low of $22.18 and a 1-year high of $63.60. The company has a market capitalization of $4,877.57, a PE ratio of -39.19 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 6.77, a current ratio of 7.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.
EXACT Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The medical research company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.09. The business had revenue of $87.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.42 million. EXACT Sciences had a negative return on equity of 24.13% and a negative net margin of 43.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 148.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.34) EPS. equities analysts anticipate that EXACT Sciences will post -0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
In other EXACT Sciences news, insider Kevin T. Conroy sold 125,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.79, for a total value of $6,619,971.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 955,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,438,416.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Maneesh Arora sold 12,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.34, for a total value of $522,983.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 644,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,293,253.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 449,538 shares of company stock worth $21,878,668 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of EXACT Sciences by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,658,145 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $402,358,000 after purchasing an additional 126,513 shares during the last quarter. Carillon Tower Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of EXACT Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $66,280,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of EXACT Sciences by 82.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,189,560 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,499,000 after purchasing an additional 539,160 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of EXACT Sciences by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,098,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $57,722,000 after purchasing an additional 24,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of EXACT Sciences by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 765,522 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $40,221,000 after purchasing an additional 41,784 shares during the last quarter. 82.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
A number of brokerages have weighed in on EXAS. Zacks Investment Research upgraded EXACT Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. William Blair restated a “buy” rating on shares of EXACT Sciences in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. BidaskClub upgraded EXACT Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Robert W. Baird upgraded EXACT Sciences from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $42.56 to $56.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Goldman Sachs started coverage on EXACT Sciences in a report on Monday, January 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.84.
EXACT Sciences Company Profile
Exact Sciences Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company, focuses on developing products for the early detection and prevention of various cancers in the United States. The company offers Cologuard, a non-invasive stool-based DNA screening test for the early detection of colorectal cancer and pre-cancer.
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