Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its position in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 36,242 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $1,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 838.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 394 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. 88.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXAS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price 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, BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exact Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.29.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In other Exact Sciences news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy acquired 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $51.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,325.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,074,191 shares in the company, valued at $55,159,707.85. The trade was a 1.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,060. This trade represents a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

EXAS opened at $62.08 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.01 and a 200-day moving average of $55.97. The company has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.06 and a beta of 1.27. Exact Sciences Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $79.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.12.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 6.17% and a negative net margin of 7.95%. Exact Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.