Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its stake in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,973,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 235,658 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 1.09% of Exact Sciences worth $136,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 459.5% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 414 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences during the first quarter worth $55,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Exact Sciences by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Stock Up 0.1 %

EXAS traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $43.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 223,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,645,040. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.60 and its 200 day moving average is $59.82. Exact Sciences Co. has a 1 year low of $40.62 and a 1 year high of $100.77. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.70 and a beta of 1.22.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The medical research company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.50). The company had revenue of $637.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $624.95 million. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 7.12% and a negative net margin of 9.48%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXAS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Exact Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Exact Sciences in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.80.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy sold 1,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.15, for a total transaction of $69,473.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,156,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,544,888.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,498 shares of company stock worth $90,105. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.