Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Exact Sciences from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment toward the company's stock.
• Multiple analysts have revised their price targets for Exact Sciences, with estimates ranging from $46.00 to $60.00, while the consensus price target remains $67.05.
• Exact Sciences reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.22, beating expectations and showing a 16% year-over-year revenue increase.

Zacks Research lowered shares of Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Exact Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.05.

Exact Sciences Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ EXAS traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $53.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,807,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,139,452. Exact Sciences has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $72.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James Edward Doyle sold 1,485 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.02, for a total value of $62,399.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 59,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,519,603.24. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 75.1% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 681 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Exact Sciences in the first quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 951.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 589 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.82% of the company's stock.

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.