Candriam S.C.A. Decreases Holdings in Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its holdings in Exact Sciences Corporation by 1.5%, ending the first quarter with 356,975 shares valued at approximately $15.45 million.
• Exact Sciences' stock has seen a 2.9% increase recently, with a market cap of $8.90 billion and a twelve-month low of $38.81.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Exact Sciences, with Larson Financial Group LLC boosting theirs by an impressive 2,804.8% during the first quarter.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its stake in Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 356,975 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,368 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.19% of Exact Sciences worth $15,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EXAS. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 2,804.8% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 610 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Exact Sciences by 75.1% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 681 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 95.8% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 926 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Katherine S. Zanotti sold 3,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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 $3,870,778.80. This represents a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James Edward Doyle sold 1,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 59,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,519,603.24. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Exact Sciences Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of EXAS traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $45.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,077,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,783,375. The company's 50-day moving average is $49.57 and its 200-day moving average is $49.27. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $72.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.40, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.93. 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 (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.22 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $811.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $774.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.09) EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price 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. BTIG Research dropped their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exact Sciences presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.43.

Exact Sciences 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.