Jennison Associates LLC Sells 30,775 Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its holdings in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 884,659 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 30,775 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.48% of Exact Sciences worth $60,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXAS. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 838.1% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 394 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXAS traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $53.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,829,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,645,437. The company's 50-day moving average price is $65.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.98. The company has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.63 and a beta of 1.27. Exact Sciences Co. has a fifty-two week low of $40.62 and a fifty-two week high of $79.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $708.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.80 million. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 6.17% and a negative net margin of 7.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exact Sciences

In other news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $65,030.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $958,090. This represents a 6.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin T. Conroy acquired 19,500 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $51.35 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $55,159,707.85. The trade was a 1.85 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EXAS. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.47.

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.