Benchmark Lowers Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Price Target to $65.00

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) had its price target cut by Benchmark from $67.00 to $65.00 in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on EXAS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Exact Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Exact Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.06.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXAS traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $51.48. 4,689,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,310,664. Exact Sciences has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $79.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $708.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.80 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 7.95% and a negative return on equity of 6.17%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Exact Sciences will post -0.87 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $65,030.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,758 shares in the company, valued at $893,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXAS. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Exact Sciences by 838.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 394 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

About Exact Sciences

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.