Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $56.50, but opened at $58.55. Exact Sciences shares last traded at $57.89, with a volume of 179,513 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EXAS shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Exact Sciences from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.94.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.01 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insider Activity at Exact Sciences

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy purchased 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $51.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,074,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,159,707.85. The trade was a 1.85 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Exact Sciences by 1,153.2% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 187,807 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $12,388,000 after buying an additional 172,821 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Exact Sciences by 67.5% during the 3rd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,277 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,083,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Exact Sciences by 59.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 335,705 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $22,868,000 after purchasing an additional 125,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 239.8% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 78,589 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 55,459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.82% of the company's stock.

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.