Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 16,264 Shares of Exact Sciences Corporation $EXAS

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 97,134 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 16,264 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Exact Sciences were worth $5,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Exact Sciences by 951.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 589 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Exact Sciences by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 542 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank purchased a new position in Exact Sciences during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Exact Sciences by 1,980.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 645 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Exact Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 88.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark cut shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Piper Sandler downgraded Exact Sciences from an “overweight” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Exact Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Exact Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Exact Sciences news, EVP Jacob A. Orville sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,775. The trade was a 17.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Exact Sciences Stock Performance

EXAS stock opened at $103.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Exact Sciences Corporation has a 12-month low of $38.81 and a 12-month high of $103.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of -19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.42.

Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The medical research company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.29). Exact Sciences had a positive return on equity of 1.67% and a negative net margin of 32.01%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.06) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Exact Sciences Corporation will post -0.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Exact Sciences 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.