Values First Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Values First Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EXAS. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in Exact Sciences by 459.5% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 414 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Exact Sciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of EXAS traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.06. 5,469,456 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,970,328. Exact Sciences Co. has a 52-week low of $56.05 and a 52-week high of $100.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The medical research company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $646.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.72) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Exact Sciences Co. will post -0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exact Sciences

In other Exact Sciences news, EVP Sarah Condella sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,423 shares in the company, valued at $5,102,590.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Brian Baranick sold 879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total transaction of $64,606.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $587,412. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Condella sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $147,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,423 shares in the company, valued at $5,102,590.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,992 shares of company stock worth $4,096,879. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on EXAS shares. TheStreet cut shares of Exact Sciences from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark upgraded shares of Exact Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.31.

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.