Short Interest in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) Drops By 10.2%

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,880,000 shares, a decrease of 10.2% from the April 15th total of 9,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXAS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. TheStreet lowered Exact Sciences from a "c-" rating to a "d+" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on Exact Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.40.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXAS traded down $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.34. 2,740,058 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,442,247. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.45. Exact Sciences has a 52-week low of $52.25 and a 52-week high of $100.77. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $63.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.44. The company has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.97 and a beta of 1.26.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The medical research company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.26. The business had revenue of $646.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $638.83 million. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 7.12% and a negative net margin of 9.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.72) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Exact Sciences will post -1.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Exact Sciences

In other Exact Sciences news, EVP Sarah Condella sold 965 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $59,279.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,330,139.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Exact Sciences news, insider Jacob A. Orville sold 1,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.50, for a total value of $66,297.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $532,467. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Condella sold 965 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $59,279.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,330,139.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 70,611 shares of company stock valued at $4,255,377. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EXAS. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 459.5% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 414 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Exact Sciences by 65.6% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 452 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Exact Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in Exact Sciences by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 700 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Exact Sciences by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 773 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.