Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) Position Boosted by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS - Free Report) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 547,680 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of Exact Sciences worth $37,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Simplify Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Exact Sciences by 67.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 11,800 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Exact Sciences by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,489 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Black Swift Group LLC acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $241,000. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EXAS opened at $52.70 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $65.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.04 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 earnings results 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 firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXAS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $95.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of 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 target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Exact Sciences presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.47.

About Exact Sciences

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.