Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Cut to “Neutral” at Mizuho

Mizuho downgraded shares of Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $105.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $85.00.

EXAS has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Exact Sciences and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Exact Sciences from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.56.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

EXAS opened at $102.37 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.53 billion, a PE ratio of -19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.86. Exact Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $38.81 and a fifty-two week high of $102.66.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.11. Exact Sciences had a positive return on equity of 1.67% and a negative net margin of 32.01%.The business had revenue of $850.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $810.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.21) earnings per share. Exact Sciences’s revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exact Sciences will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In related news, EVP Jacob A. Orville sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 23,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,775. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 2,858 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total value of $200,288.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,368 shares in the company, valued at $1,567,549.44. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Exact Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth $157,805,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 105.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,493,085 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $245,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310,139 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in Exact Sciences by 6,072,588.9% during the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,186,168 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $119,605,000 after buying an additional 2,186,132 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 189.5% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 671.5% during the third quarter. Amova Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 1,286,595 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,390,000 after buying an additional 1,119,830 shares in the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Exact Sciences

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.