Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS Stock Position Decreased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. has reduced its stake in Exact Sciences by 51.4%, now holding 4,735 shares valued at approximately $205,000.
• Institutional investors have been active, with companies like Larson Financial Group and National Pension Service increasing their holdings significantly in the first quarter.
• Despite recent reductions in target prices from various research analysts, the consensus rating for Exact Sciences stock remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $67.05.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) by 51.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,735 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 5,011 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EXAS. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 129,024 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $7,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 384.9% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 21,708 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,220,000 after buying an additional 17,231 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 39,488 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,219,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,288,876 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $72,422,000 after buying an additional 87,401 shares in the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXAS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Exact Sciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Exact Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $61.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.05.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ EXAS traded down $0.64 on Wednesday, reaching $54.77. 2,560,623 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,055,909. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $48.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.05. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 12 month low of $38.81 and a 12 month high of $72.83.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Katherine S. Zanotti sold 3,207 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 72,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,870,778.80. This trade represents a 4.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James Edward Doyle sold 1,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 59,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,519,603.24. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.