Soros Fund Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Soros Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 378,590 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 153,590 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC owned about 0.20% of Exact Sciences worth $25,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 838.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 394 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy acquired 19,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $51.35 per share, with a total value of $1,001,325.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,074,191 shares in the company, valued at $55,159,707.85. This trade represents a 1.85 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at $893,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ EXAS traded down $1.53 on Friday, hitting $62.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,903,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,644,573. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.12. Exact Sciences Co. has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $79.62. The company has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.51 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $63.35 and a 200-day moving average of $56.29.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.01). Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 6.17% and a negative net margin of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $708.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.80 million. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EXAS shares. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Craig Hallum cut their price target on Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Exact Sciences from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Exact Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.29.

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.