Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 11,403 Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 3,314.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,747 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,403 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 452 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Trading Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ EXAS traded down $1.99 on Friday, hitting $55.92. 2,647,759 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,711,629. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.73 and a beta of 1.22. Exact Sciences Co. has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $88.62.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical research company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.28. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 5.00% and a negative net margin of 6.70%. The business had revenue of $699.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $690.02 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.45) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EXAS shares. Scotiabank began coverage on Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $91.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.06.

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.