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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on EXAS. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 28th. BTIG Research cut Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $105.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Exact Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Exact Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.00.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.31 and a 200 day moving average of $77.94. The stock has a market cap of $19.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 2.17.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last posted 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%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.06) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exact Sciences

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Exact Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $542,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $1,894,000 after acquiring an additional 3,861 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Exact Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,873,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Exact Sciences by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 102,425 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,429 shares in the last quarter. 88.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.