Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $74.18 and last traded at $74.9830, with a volume of 2004817 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $69.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXAS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Exact Sciences from $74.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Craig Hallum upped their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Exact Sciences from $54.00 to $46.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Exact Sciences from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.06.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of -15.55, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.34. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.57.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Exact Sciences

In other news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 2,858 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total transaction of $200,288.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,567,549.44. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James Edward Doyle sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 57,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,477,720. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Exact Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXAS. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Exact Sciences by 2,804.8% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 610 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 75.1% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 681 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the first quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 951.8% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 589 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 542 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.