Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stake in Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 20.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,134 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 16,264 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.05% of Exact Sciences worth $5,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted 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 valued at $22,835,000 after buying an additional 403,724 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Exact Sciences by 189.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,404,086 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,716,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $70,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Exact Sciences by 255.4% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 34,720 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 24,951 shares during the period. 88.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EXAS shares. Benchmark lowered shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $105.00 price target on Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim cut Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.56.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Exact Sciences stock opened at $103.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.41, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.44, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.56. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 52 week low of $38.81 and a 52 week high of $103.54.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.29). Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 32.01% and a positive return on equity of 1.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.06) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Exact Sciences news, EVP Jacob A. Orville sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,742,775. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.