More Bull Notes for EXACT Sciences After Earnings
EXAS shares are lower today, however
Molecular diagnostics specialist EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) has received a number of bullish analyst notes this morning after the company's earnings release last night. Canaccord Genuity, SVB Leerink, Jefferies, and Craig-Hallum all lifted their price targets on the stock, with the latter two setting the highest marks at $115, deep into all-time-high territory. This comes after EXACT posted a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter despite topping revenue expectations.
Analysts were already overwhelmingly bullish on the shares coming into today, with seven of the eight tracking EXAS handing out "strong buy" recommendations. What's more, the average 12-month price target is $111.73. For reference, the stock was last seen trading down 2.7% at $96.02, after hitting a record high $101 earlier this morning.
Options traders, on the other hand, were taking a bearish stance on EXAS ahead of earnings. Specifically, the 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.56 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks in the 90th annual percentile, showing there's been unusually strong demand for long puts over calls.
There's also been pessimism from short sellers, who control 6.7% of the float, or 5.6 times the average daily trading volume. However, short interest declined by 12.4% in the last reporting period, so maybe these bears are in cover mode -- a potential tailwind for EXACT Sciences.