Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 16,937 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 291% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,328 call options.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:EXAS traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $63.86. 3,472,037 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,314,284. Exact Sciences has a 1 year low of $56.05 and a 1 year high of $100.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.05 and a beta of 1.25.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The medical research company reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.53) by $0.26. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 8.17% and a negative return on equity of 6.60%. The firm had revenue of $646.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.72) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Exact Sciences will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on EXAS shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Benchmark raised shares of Exact Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Exact Sciences from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exact Sciences news, Director D Scott Coward sold 1,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $84,527.68. Following the sale, the director now owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,259.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director D Scott Coward sold 1,376 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $84,527.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,259.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Condella sold 2,000 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,025,090. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,113 shares of company stock valued at $4,165,273 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exact Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,559,751 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,299,070,000 after acquiring an additional 115,058 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,468,145 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $552,493,000 after acquiring an additional 539,498 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,470,278 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $330,711,000 after acquiring an additional 508,764 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,591,057 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $175,458,000 after acquiring an additional 91,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,858,380 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $137,483,000 after acquiring an additional 192,372 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

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.