Virtu Financial LLC Takes $538,000 Position in Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has invested approximately $538,000 in Exact Sciences Corporation, purchasing 12,434 shares during the first quarter.
• Exact Sciences Corporation's stock has seen a year-to-date increase of 7.6% and the company reported earnings of $0.22 per share, beating the consensus estimate by $0.24.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of upgrades and downgrades, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.43 for EXAS stock.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 12,434 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Exact Sciences in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 24.0% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,598 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Exact Sciences in the first quarter worth about $1,171,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 15.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,243 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 110.0% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,799 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 4,609 shares during the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on EXAS shares. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Exact Sciences from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Exact Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.43.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXAS traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.60. The stock had a trading volume of 3,885,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,811,439. The company has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.41 and a 200-day moving average of $49.63. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.81 and a 12-month high of $72.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.89.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $774.43 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 34.19% and a negative return on equity of 1.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.09) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exact Sciences

In other Exact Sciences news, Director James Edward Doyle sold 1,485 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 59,962 shares in the company, valued at $2,519,603.24. This trade 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 available through this link. Also, Director Katherine S. Zanotti sold 3,207 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.