Wells Fargo & Company Downgrades Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) to Hold

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) was downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on EXAS. Benchmark increased their price objective on Exact Sciences from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Exact Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.38.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Shares of EXAS traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $100.90. 19,177,434 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,186,310. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Exact Sciences has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $101.87. The company has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.58, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.44.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James Edward Doyle sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 57,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,477,720. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 2,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total transaction of $200,288.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,567,549.44. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,858 shares of company stock valued at $695,289. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences during the third quarter worth about $507,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 30,424 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 7,897 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $164,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Exact Sciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 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.