BTIG Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Stock

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at BTIG Research from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 26.50% from the stock’s current price.

EXAS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Exact Sciences from $95.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.06.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXAS traded up $4.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.29. 2,620,282 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,643,974. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.90 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.93. Exact Sciences has a 52 week low of $40.62 and a 52 week high of $79.62.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.01). Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 6.17% and a negative net margin of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $708.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.80 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Exact Sciences will post -1.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Exact Sciences

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy purchased 19,500 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $51.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,325.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $65,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $893,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EXAS. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 1,153.2% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 187,807 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $12,388,000 after acquiring an additional 172,821 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 239.8% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 78,589 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after buying an additional 55,459 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Exact Sciences by 59.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 335,705 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,868,000 after buying an additional 125,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences in the second quarter worth about $163,896,000. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.