Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $5,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 28,937 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,141,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 110.4% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 429,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,759,000 after acquiring an additional 225,211 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,747 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Quantum Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC now owns 58,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,347,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $462,000. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EXAS opened at $60.96 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Exact Sciences Co. has a 52-week low of $56.05 and a 52-week high of $100.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director D Scott Coward sold 1,376 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $84,527.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,580 shares in the company, valued at $2,554,259.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director D Scott Coward sold 1,376 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $84,527.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 41,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,259.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sarah Condella sold 965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total value of $59,279.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,330,139.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,113 shares of company stock worth $4,165,273. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EXAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. TheStreet lowered shares of Exact Sciences from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Benchmark raised shares of Exact Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.44.

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.