Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $103.79 and last traded at $103.77, with a volume of 186906 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners cut Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler cut Exact Sciences from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 24th. William Blair downgraded Exact Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. TD Cowen lowered Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $92.13.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $102.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 2.43. The company has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.41.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.29). Exact Sciences had a positive return on equity of 0.53% and a negative net margin of 6.40%.During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.06) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 1,553.1% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 429,719 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,835,000 after purchasing an additional 403,724 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 189.5% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,145,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $113,995,000 after buying an additional 1,404,086 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Exact Sciences by 25.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 198,287 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,848,000 after buying an additional 40,258 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Exact Sciences by 643.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,286,595 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,390,000 after buying an additional 1,113,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 255.4% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 34,720 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,845,000 after acquiring an additional 24,951 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Company Profile

Exact Sciences Corporation is a molecular diagnostics company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, dedicated to the early detection and prevention of cancer. The company’s flagship product, Cologuard®, is a noninvasive, stool-based DNA screening test for colorectal cancer that was developed in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic. By combining DNA mutation analysis with hemoglobin detection, Cologuard aims to improve screening adherence and identify cancers and precancerous lesions in average-risk adults.

Since its founding in 1995, Exact Sciences has expanded its portfolio through strategic acquisitions and internal research and development.