Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Coverage Initiated at Scotiabank

Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 65.68% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on EXAS. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Exact Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Exact Sciences in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.86.

Exact Sciences Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXAS opened at $42.25 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Exact Sciences has a 12-month low of $40.62 and a 12-month high of $100.77. The company has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.01 and a beta of 1.26.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50). The business had revenue of $637.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $624.95 million. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 7.12% and a negative net margin of 9.48%. Research analysts anticipate that Exact Sciences will post -1.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy sold 1,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.15, for a total transaction of $69,473.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,156,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,544,888.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy sold 1,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.15, for a total transaction of $69,473.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,156,191 shares in the company, valued at $69,544,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Condella sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,025,090. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,498 shares of company stock valued at $230,105 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in Exact Sciences by 459.5% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 414 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 65.6% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 452 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 92.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.