Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) by 203.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,300 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,800 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $4,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $163,896,000. Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,819,000. Samlyn Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,426,000. Armistice Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 91.6% in the 2nd quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,400,086 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $59,154,000 after buying an additional 669,438 shares during the period. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the third quarter worth about $28,608,000. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on EXAS. Citigroup dropped their target price on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Craig Hallum dropped their price target on shares of Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.29.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Exact Sciences stock traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $62.61. 1,903,255 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,644,573. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $63.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.25. Exact Sciences Co. has a twelve month low of $40.62 and a twelve month high of $79.62. The firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a PE ratio of -54.82 and a beta of 1.24. 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 (NASDAQ:EXAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm's revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy bought 19,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $51.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,074,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $55,159,707.85. This trade represents a 1.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $958,090. This represents a 6.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.