Brokerages Set Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) Target Price at $78.38

Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $80.64.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EXAS. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $91.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In related news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $893,060. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in Exact Sciences by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 452 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new position in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Exact Sciences by 92.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Trading Down 2.2 %

EXAS stock opened at $68.93 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Exact Sciences has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $79.62. The firm has a market cap of $12.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -52.22 and a beta of 1.27.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical research company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $699.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $690.02 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 6.70% and a negative return on equity of 4.97%. Exact Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.45) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Exact Sciences will post -0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Exact Sciences

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.