Simplify Asset Management Inc. Sells 46,550 Shares of Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 72.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,477 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 46,550 shares during the quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Exact Sciences by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 452 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Exact Sciences by 92.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 708 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the first quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Exact Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. 88.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Exact Sciences stock opened at $70.83 on Friday. Exact Sciences Co. has a one year low of $40.62 and a one year high of $79.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.66 and a beta of 1.26.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical research company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.28. Exact Sciences had a negative return on equity of 4.97% and a negative net margin of 6.70%. The business had revenue of $699.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $690.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.45) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Exact Sciences Co. will post -0.87 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on EXAS shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Scotiabank started coverage on Exact Sciences in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Exact Sciences from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Exact Sciences in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Exact Sciences from $100.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.14.

Insider Activity at Exact Sciences

In other Exact Sciences news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of Exact Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $65,030.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $958,090. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Exact Sciences 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.