Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS Position Raised by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,555,051 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 534,881 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.35% of Exact Sciences worth $139,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of EXAS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Exact Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $157,805,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Exact Sciences by 189.5% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,145,181 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $113,995,000 after buying an additional 1,404,086 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Exact Sciences by 643.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,286,595 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,390,000 after buying an additional 1,113,459 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Exact Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,372,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Exact Sciences by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,753,283 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $93,169,000 after acquiring an additional 741,517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $80.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $77.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Benchmark cut Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $92.13.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of EXAS opened at $103.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 2.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $102.48 and its 200-day moving average is $79.84. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.81 and a 12-month high of $103.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.42.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) earnings per share 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%.Exact Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.06) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.