Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) Shares Bought by Values First Advisors Inc.

Values First Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,973 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EXAS. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Exact Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $91,558,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,037,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Exact Sciences by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,487,009 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $383,652,000 after purchasing an additional 804,159 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Exact Sciences by 4.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,676,611 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $541,823,000 after purchasing an additional 698,740 shares during the period. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences in the second quarter worth approximately $46,950,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Exact Sciences

In other Exact Sciences news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy sold 14,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $908,611.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,224,357 shares in the company, valued at $75,212,250.51. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Exact Sciences news, insider Jacob A. Orville sold 2,154 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.32, for a total value of $127,775.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,324 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,699.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kevin T. Conroy sold 14,791 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total transaction of $908,611.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,224,357 shares in the company, valued at $75,212,250.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,992 shares of company stock valued at $4,096,879. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Exact Sciences stock traded up $2.18 on Friday, hitting $69.06. 5,469,456 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,970,328. Exact Sciences Co. has a 12-month low of $56.05 and a 12-month high of $100.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The medical research company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.53) by $0.26. The company had revenue of $646.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.83 million. Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 8.17% and a negative return on equity of 6.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.72) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Exact Sciences Co. will post -0.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EXAS shares. Benchmark upgraded Exact Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Exact Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet cut Exact Sciences from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.31.

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.