Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Buys New Position in Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS

Key Points

• Ausdal Financial Partners bought a new stake of 90,988 shares in Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) in Q3, valued at about $4.98 million, part of a landscape where institutional investors own roughly 88.82% of the stock.
• Analysts are mixed but cautious: MarketBeat shows an average rating of Reduce with an average price target of $92.13, while most firms assign Hold/Equal Weight ratings despite a few $105 targets.
• Exact Sciences recently missed quarterly EPS expectations (reported ($0.21) vs. $0.08 estimate) even as revenue grew 23.1% year-over-year; the stock trades around $103.57, has a negative P/E (~-94.15), and analysts expect ~-0.58 EPS for the fiscal year.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 90,988 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $4,978,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXAS. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Exact Sciences by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 542 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 241.2% in the 3rd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 1,085 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on EXAS. William Blair downgraded Exact Sciences from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore set a $105.00 price objective on Exact Sciences and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $77.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $92.13.

Exact Sciences Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of EXAS opened at $103.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -94.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 2.17. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 1 year low of $38.81 and a 1 year high of $103.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.86.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.29). Exact Sciences had a positive return on equity of 0.53% and a negative net margin of 6.40%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.06) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exact Sciences Profile

Exact Sciences Corporation is a molecular diagnostics company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, dedicated to the early detection and prevention of cancer. The company's flagship product, Cologuard®, is a noninvasive, stool-based DNA screening test for colorectal cancer that was developed in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic. By combining DNA mutation analysis with hemoglobin detection, Cologuard aims to improve screening adherence and identify cancers and precancerous lesions in average-risk adults.

Since its founding in 1995, Exact Sciences has expanded its portfolio through strategic acquisitions and internal research and development.

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