Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two 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. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.40.

Several research firms recently weighed in on EXAS. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Exact Sciences from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Exact Sciences from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Exact Sciences from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In related news, Director Katherine S. Zanotti sold 3,207 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 72,759 shares in the company, valued at $3,870,778.80. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exact Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 2,804.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 610 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in Exact Sciences by 75.1% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 681 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Exact Sciences in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Exact Sciences in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of EXAS stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $53.88. 2,375,016 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,668,056. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $53.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.32. The company has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 40.34 and a beta of 0.95. Exact Sciences has a 1 year low of $39.97 and a 1 year high of $72.83.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical research company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.37) by $0.16. The company had revenue of $706.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.58 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 36.06% and a negative return on equity of 3.75%. The business's revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.60) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exact Sciences will post -0.58 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.