Craig Hallum Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Stock

Key Points

• Craig Hallum has raised its target price for Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) from $65.00 to $85.00, indicating a potential upside of 52.85% from its current price and maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock.
• Despite the positive forecast from Craig Hallum, other analysts have lowered their price targets, with BTIG Research decreasing from $65.00 to $60.00, reflecting a mixed sentiment among analysts.
• Exact Sciences reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.22, exceeding analyst expectations and achieving revenue of $811.09 million, which was also above projections.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Craig Hallum from $65.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the medical research company's stock. Craig Hallum's target price indicates a potential upside of 52.85% from the company's current price.

EXAS has been the subject of several other research reports. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $61.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.05.

Exact Sciences Stock Up 1.5%

EXAS traded up $0.84 during trading on Thursday, hitting $55.61. 1,011,714 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,427. Exact Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $38.81 and a fifty-two week high of $72.83. The stock has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.22, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.05. The business's 50 day moving average is $48.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $811.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $774.43 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 34.19% and a negative return on equity of 1.75%. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.09) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Exact Sciences will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Katherine S. Zanotti sold 3,207 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.20, for a total transaction of $170,612.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 72,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,870,778.80. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Edward Doyle sold 1,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.02, for a total transaction of $62,399.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 59,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,519,603.24. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EXAS. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in Exact Sciences by 3.7% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 4,971 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 22,432 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 58,333 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,127,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 100,872 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,367,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,466 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.82% of the company's stock.

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.

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