Simplify Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,800 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $1,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EXAS. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 838.1% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 394 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

EXAS stock traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.47. The company had a trading volume of 646,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,011. The company has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.53 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.27. Exact Sciences Co. has a fifty-two week low of $40.62 and a fifty-two week high of $79.62.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.01). Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 6.17% and a negative net margin of 7.95%. The firm had revenue of $708.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.80 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Exact Sciences

In other news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy acquired 19,500 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $51.35 per share, with a total value of $1,001,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,074,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,159,707.85. This represents a 1.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXAS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Craig Hallum dropped their price target on Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price target on Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.