Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 974,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 244,516 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $53,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EXAS. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Exact Sciences by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 542 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Country Trust Bank bought a new stake in Exact Sciences in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the third quarter valued at $48,000. OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 241.2% during the third quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 1,085 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 463.0% during the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,216 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EXAS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Exact Sciences and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $105.00 target price on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $92.13.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of EXAS opened at $103.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a PE ratio of -94.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $102.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.06. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 52-week low of $38.81 and a 52-week high of $103.75.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) 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 company’s revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.06) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exact Sciences 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.