Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS Shares Acquired by M&G PLC

M&G PLC lifted its position in Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 198,968 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,394 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned 0.11% of Exact Sciences worth $10,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXAS. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 1,553.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 429,719 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $22,835,000 after purchasing an additional 403,724 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 189.5% during the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,145,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $113,995,000 after buying an additional 1,404,086 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,716,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 643.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,286,595 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 255.4% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 34,720 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after acquiring an additional 24,951 shares during the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In other Exact Sciences news, EVP Jacob A. Orville sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,237 shares in the company, valued at $1,742,775. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EXAS shares. Zacks Research downgraded Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Evercore set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Exact Sciences and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, William Blair lowered shares of Exact Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.56.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

EXAS opened at $103.24 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $102.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.36. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.81 and a 12-month high of $103.54. The firm has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.85, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.29). Exact Sciences had a positive return on equity of 0.53% and a negative net margin of 6.40%.The business had revenue of $878.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $860.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.06) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Exact Sciences Company Profile

Exact Sciences Corporation is a molecular diagnostics company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, dedicated to the early detection and prevention of cancer. The company’s flagship product, Cologuard®, is a noninvasive, stool-based DNA screening test for colorectal cancer that was developed in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic. By combining DNA mutation analysis with hemoglobin detection, Cologuard aims to improve screening adherence and identify cancers and precancerous lesions in average-risk adults.

Since its founding in 1995, Exact Sciences has expanded its portfolio through strategic acquisitions and internal research and development.