AtonRa Partners Trims Stock Holdings in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

AtonRa Partners lessened its position in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 846 shares during the quarter. Exact Sciences accounts for 1.3% of AtonRa Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. AtonRa Partners’ holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Exact Sciences by 3.5% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 70,236 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,792,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 14.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 33,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 3.9% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 50,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 128.4% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 100,997 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,890,000 after purchasing an additional 56,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Exact Sciences by 1.8% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,073 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

EXAS stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $58.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,216,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,285,936. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.89. Exact Sciences Co. has a fifty-two week low of $56.05 and a fifty-two week high of $100.77. The stock has a market cap of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of -51.56 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXAS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark upgraded Exact Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. TheStreet downgraded Exact Sciences from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective 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. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.44.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In related news, EVP Sarah Condella sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,787 shares in the company, valued at $5,025,090. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jacob A. Orville sold 966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.43, for a total transaction of $59,341.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,987.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sarah Condella sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $140,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 71,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,025,090. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,113 shares of company stock worth $4,165,273 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Company 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.