EXACT Sciences Corporation (EXAS) Rises on Bullish Analyst Note

EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) shares are higher in the pre-market after Doug Schenkel of Cowen initiated an ‘Outperform’ rating and set a $30 price target on the stock. Schenkel notes that Exact’s Cologuard screening product is targeting a $4 billion per annum market opportunity, which the analyst expects to allow Cologuard to grow at a 5 year average revenue CAGR of around 50%. The analyst also notes that Exact Sciences has made some progress in recent quarters, having won CMS reimbursement coverage, and having increased its sales-force/advertising efficiency.

What Does The Smart Money Sentiment Say?

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The smart money wasn’t as bullish on EXACT Sciences in the fourth quarter as analysts are now. Of the 742 elite funds we track, 18 funds owned $139.65 million of EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) and accounted for 9.60% of the float on December 31, versus 31 funds and $251.1 million respectively on September 30. D E Shaw cut its stake by 15% to 4.6 million shares while Samuel Isaly‘s Orbimed Advisors trimmed its holdings by 14% to 950,000 shares.

There is also a sizable amount of doubters. According to FINVIZ, around 30% of the company’s float is still short.

The Bottom Line

After being beaten up due to various events last year, sentiment in EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) is improving as Wall Street becomes more bullish. Whether or not the company will be a great long term holding will depend on how well management executes.

Disclosure:None