AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 419,381 Shares of Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Exact Sciences Corporation by 70.8%, acquiring an additional 419,381 shares, resulting in ownership of over 1 million shares worth approximately $43.6 million.
• Several institutional investors have also significantly raised their positions in Exact Sciences, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 88.82% of the company's stock.
• Analyst ratings for Exact Sciences are generally optimistic, with one Strong Buy and multiple Buy ratings, while the average price target is set at $67.05.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) by 70.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,011,766 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 419,381 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.54% of Exact Sciences worth $43,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Exact Sciences during the first quarter worth $34,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 24.0% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,598 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 1st quarter worth about $1,171,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,243 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Exact Sciences by 110.0% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,799 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 4,609 shares in the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Zacks Research downgraded Exact Sciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Exact Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.05.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXAS traded down $2.06 during midday 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 stock has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day moving average price is $48.86 and its 200 day moving average price 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. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $72.83.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.24. The business 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.09) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Exact Sciences

In related news, Director James Edward Doyle sold 1,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.02, for a total value of $62,399.70. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% 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.