Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $55.14, but opened at $60.30. Exact Sciences shares last traded at $59.31, with a volume of 519,111 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Exact Sciences from $95.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.47.

Exact Sciences Stock Up 9.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.69 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.51 and a 200 day moving average of $55.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released 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 company had revenue of $708.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.80 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 7.95% and a negative return on equity of 6.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Exact Sciences news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $65,030.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $958,090. This represents a 6.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin T. Conroy acquired 19,500 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $51.35 per share, with a total value of $1,001,325.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,074,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,159,707.85. This trade represents a 1.85 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences during the second quarter worth about $163,896,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Exact Sciences by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,105,970 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $211,104,000 after purchasing an additional 7,873 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Exact Sciences by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,494,480 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $169,924,000 after purchasing an additional 245,980 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 25.1% in the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 1,449,465 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $98,738,000 after purchasing an additional 290,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 91.6% in the second quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,400,086 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $59,154,000 after purchasing an additional 669,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

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.