Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Stock Rating Lowered by Barclays

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim cut Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research raised Exact Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.38.

Exact Sciences Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ EXAS opened at $100.90 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.44. Exact Sciences has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $101.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.89. The company has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of -18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.34.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The medical research company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $850.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $810.42 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 34.19% and a negative return on equity of 1.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.21) EPS. Exact Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Exact Sciences will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exact Sciences

In other news, Director James Edward Doyle sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 57,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,477,720. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jacob A. Orville sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,237 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,775. This trade represents a 17.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,858 shares of company stock valued at $695,289. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXAS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth $157,805,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 105.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,493,085 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $245,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310,139 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Exact Sciences by 6,072,588.9% during the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,186,168 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $119,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186,132 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Exact Sciences by 120.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,128,958 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $135,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 189.5% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,145,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $113,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404,086 shares during the period. 88.82% of the stock is currently 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.