Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) Short Interest Down 9.5% in October

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 14,060,000 shares, a decline of 9.5% from the October 15th total of 15,540,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exact Sciences news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy purchased 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.35 per share, with a total value of $1,001,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,074,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,159,707.85. This represents a 1.85 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $893,060. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EXAS. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 838.1% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 394 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:EXAS traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.12. 768,255 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,638,517. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of -42.39 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Exact Sciences has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $79.62.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $708.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.80 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 7.95% and a negative return on equity of 6.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Exact Sciences will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EXAS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Exact Sciences from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Exact Sciences from $95.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Exact Sciences from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.47.

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.