Mizuho Upgrades Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) to Strong-Buy

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Mizuho to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday, April 9th,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on EXAS. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim set a $60.00 price objective on Exact Sciences and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.25.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

EXAS stock traded down $1.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.39. 1,444,978 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,595,561. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.15. Exact Sciences has a 52 week low of $39.97 and a 52 week high of $72.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.61 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Exact Sciences by 22,825.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 917 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.