EXACT Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) was downgraded by Robert W. Baird from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Monday, November 13th, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $56.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.59% from the stock’s previous close.
A number of other research firms have also commented on EXAS. Zacks Investment Research lowered EXACT Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of EXACT Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Vetr raised EXACT Sciences from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.07 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Leerink Swann reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $45.00) on shares of EXACT Sciences in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their price target on EXACT Sciences from $30.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.58.
Shares of EXACT Sciences (EXAS) traded down $2.09 on Monday, reaching $52.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,347,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,317. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 9.98 and a current ratio of 10.34. EXACT Sciences has a 12-month low of $13.05 and a 12-month high of $63.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6,290.61, a PE ratio of -45.29 and a beta of 0.67.
In related news, SVP D Scott Coward sold 29,115 shares of EXACT Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.16, for a total value of $1,373,063.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 64,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,064,975.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kevin T. Conroy sold 123,512 shares of EXACT Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total value of $6,494,260.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 953,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,138,395.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 718,908 shares of company stock worth $39,448,030. 4.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EXAS. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of EXACT Sciences by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 11,141 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of EXACT Sciences by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 183,485 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,334,000 after purchasing an additional 8,221 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of EXACT Sciences during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,298,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of EXACT Sciences by 45,816.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,804,297 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $160,718,000 after purchasing an additional 6,789,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of EXACT Sciences by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 483,849 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $11,429,000 after purchasing an additional 65,619 shares during the last quarter. 82.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About EXACT Sciences
Exact Sciences Corporation is a molecular diagnostics company. The Company focuses on the early detection and prevention of some forms of cancer. It offers a non-invasive screening test called Cologuard for the early detection of colorectal cancer and pre-cancer. Its Cologuard test is a stool-based deoxyribonucleic acid (sDNA) screening test, which utilizes a multi-target approach to detect deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and hemoglobin biomarkers associated with colorectal cancer and pre-cancer.
