Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 897 Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 897 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $5,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 28,937 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,141,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 period. 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 worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Quantum Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $462,000. 88.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Stock Down 4.0 %

EXAS stock opened at $60.96 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $56.05 and a 12 month high of $100.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.06.

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

Insider Activity at Exact Sciences

In related news, Director D Scott Coward sold 1,376 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,554,259.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Sarah Condella sold 965 shares of the company’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 $59,279.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,330,139.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director D Scott Coward sold 1,376 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,113 shares of company stock worth $4,165,273. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective 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. TheStreet cut shares of Exact Sciences from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Benchmark upgraded Exact Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.44.

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.