Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 66,942 Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 342,102 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 66,942 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.18% of Exact Sciences worth $19,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EXAS. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 22,825.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 917 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Ostrum Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Ostrum Asset Management now owns 2,382 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ EXAS traded up $1.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $47.21. The company had a trading volume of 3,897,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,609,844. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.48 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.72. Exact Sciences Co. has a 12-month low of $39.97 and a 12-month high of $72.83.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.23. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 37.29% and a negative return on equity of 5.29%. The firm had revenue of $713.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.45 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Exact Sciences Co. will post -0.58 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on EXAS shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.25.

Exact Sciences Company 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.