Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $103.65 and last traded at $103.4890, with a volume of 268204 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on EXAS shares. Evercore set a $105.00 price target on shares of Exact Sciences and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $77.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.00.

Exact Sciences Stock Up 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 2.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $102.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.94. The firm has a market cap of $19.76 billion, a PE ratio of -94.09, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Institutional Trading of Exact Sciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Exact Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Compound Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $542,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,639 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,894,000 after buying an additional 3,861 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,873,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 102,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,402,000 after buying an additional 4,429 shares in the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Exact Sciences

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.