The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stock Position in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Exact Sciences Co. (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 136,592 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 35,927 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.07% of Exact Sciences worth $9,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Exact Sciences by 1,153.2% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 187,807 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,388,000 after purchasing an additional 172,821 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 67.5% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after buying an additional 11,800 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 239.8% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 78,589 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 55,459 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Exact Sciences by 59.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 335,705 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $22,868,000 after buying an additional 125,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,292,090 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $88,017,000 after acquiring an additional 45,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Price Performance

Shares of EXAS opened at $60.56 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a current ratio of 2.12. Exact Sciences Co. has a 12-month low of $40.62 and a 12-month high of $79.62.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.01). Exact Sciences had a negative net margin of 7.95% and a negative return on equity of 6.17%. The firm had revenue of $708.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.80 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Exact Sciences Co. will post -1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Exact Sciences

In related news, EVP Brian Baranick sold 929 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $65,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $893,060. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin T. Conroy purchased 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $51.35 per share, with a total value of $1,001,325.00. Following the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EXAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Exact Sciences from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Exact Sciences from $82.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Exact Sciences from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Exact Sciences from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Exact Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.29.

About Exact Sciences

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.