Aberdeen Group plc Has $7.47 Million Stock Position in Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS

Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 180.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,565 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 110,924 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $7,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 2,804.8% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 610 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Exact Sciences by 75.1% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 681 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Exact Sciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its stake in Exact Sciences by 95.8% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 926 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Katherine S. Zanotti sold 3,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.20, for a total transaction of $170,612.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 72,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,870,778.80. The trade was a 4.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Edward Doyle sold 1,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.02, for a total transaction of $62,399.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 59,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,519,603.24. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on EXAS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Exact Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Exact Sciences from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Exact Sciences from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.43.

Exact Sciences Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:EXAS opened at $47.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.83 and its 200-day moving average is $49.46. The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.93. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $72.83.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $811.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $774.43 million. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 1.75% and a negative net margin of 34.19%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.09) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Exact Sciences 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.