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

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in 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 daily trading volume, of 2,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.9 days.

Exact Sciences Stock Up 5.2 %

Exact Sciences stock traded up $2.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.12. 768,255 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,638,517. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.39 and a beta of 1.27. Exact Sciences has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $79.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.08.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $708.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Exact Sciences will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EXAS. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Exact Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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 lowered their price target on Exact Sciences from $95.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.47.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 74.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,025,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $899,528,000 after acquiring an additional 5,557,168 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $163,896,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Exact Sciences by 175.3% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,258,235 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $155,954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438,010 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $821,000. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,819,000. Institutional investors 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.