Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,937 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $2,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Exact Sciences by 110.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 429,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,759,000 after acquiring an additional 225,211 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Exact Sciences by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,747 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Exact Sciences by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC now owns 58,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,347,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Finally, HealthInvest Partners AB purchased a new stake in Exact Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $899,000. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In other news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy sold 14,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total transaction of $908,611.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,224,357 shares in the company, valued at $75,212,250.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director D Scott Coward sold 1,376 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $84,527.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,259.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kevin T. Conroy sold 14,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $908,611.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,224,357 shares in the company, valued at $75,212,250.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,113 shares of company stock worth $4,165,273 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Exact Sciences Trading Up 0.4 %

EXAS stock opened at $63.48 on Friday. Exact Sciences Co. has a 52-week low of $56.05 and a 52-week high of $100.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.32.

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

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.