Jennison Associates LLC Lowers Position in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 762,736 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 121,923 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Exact Sciences worth $42,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EXAS. Chicago Capital LLC grew its stake in Exact Sciences by 126.5% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 10,080 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 5,629 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 10,212 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 246,204 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,834,000 after buying an additional 12,621 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in shares of Exact Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $4,329,000. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 76.1% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 30,848 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 13,333 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ EXAS opened at $54.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.93. Exact Sciences Co. has a 1-year low of $40.62 and a 1-year high of $79.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.79 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.00.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.80 million. Exact Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In related news, CEO Kevin T. Conroy bought 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $51.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,074,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,159,707.85. This trade 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on EXAS shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $95.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Exact Sciences from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.76.

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.