Baillie Gifford & Co. Cuts Stock Position in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its position in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 54.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,701,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,065,067 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.93% of Exact Sciences worth $117,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 4,390 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 2.1% in the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,516 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Exact Sciences by 65.6% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 452 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC increased its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EXAS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Exact Sciences in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, BTIG Research decreased their target price on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Exact Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.80.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Exact Sciences stock traded up $1.38 on Friday, reaching $44.57. 1,618,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,821,357. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Exact Sciences Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $100.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.45.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50). Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 7.12% and a negative net margin of 9.48%. The business had revenue of $637.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $624.95 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy sold 1,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.15, for a total value of $69,473.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,156,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,544,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,498 shares of company stock worth $90,105. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Profile

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.