Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Exact Sciences Corporation experienced a 37.5% increase in short interest, reaching 9,460,000 shares as of August 15th, which indicates growing bearish sentiment among investors.
• Insider sales occurred with Director Katherine S. Zanotti selling 3,207 shares at $53.20 and James Edward Doyle selling 1,485 shares at $42.02, indicating potential concerns about the company's stock performance.
• Research analysts adjusted price targets for Exact Sciences, with ratings ranging from "sector perform" to "moderate buy," reflecting varying outlooks on the company's financial prospects and potential growth.

Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,460,000 shares, an increase of 37.5% from the July 31st total of 6,880,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 3,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EXAS. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $61.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exact Sciences

In related news, Director James Edward Doyle sold 1,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,519,603.24. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 951.8% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 589 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 2,804.8% in the 1st 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. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 1,980.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 645 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ EXAS traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $53.94. The company had a trading volume of 2,321,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,838,130. The business's 50-day moving average is $48.86 and its 200-day moving average is $49.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.05. Exact Sciences has a 52 week low of $38.81 and a 52 week high of $72.83.

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