Shares in Exact Sciences have more than quadrupled in 2017, and the stock’s impressive run has led some analysts to question whether it’s a smart buy at the current price. But Jeff Elliott, Exact’s chief financial officer, says he believes his company is poised for continued growth as it adds laboratory space and works to advance potential cancer diagnostics through its product pipeline.
Madison, WI-based Exact (NASDAQ: EXAS) develops tests for several types of cancer. Its flagship product is Cologuard, a stool-based DNA test for colorectal cancer.
The company’s stock price ticked up after Exact reported better than expected third-quarter earnings last month, and in recent weeks has been hovering around $60 a share. On this day a year ago, its stock was trading at $15.16 per share.
One reason for the strong performance of Exact’s stock in 2017 is that the company has beaten analysts’—and its own—quarterly projections of revenue and completed Cologuard tests.
Robert W. Baird & Co., where Elliott worked as a senior research analyst prior to joining Exact in 2016, recently downgraded the company’s stock from “outperform” to “neutral.” In a note explaining their decision to lower Exact’s rating, Baird analysts Catherine Ramsey Schulte and Emily Stent wrote that they “remain bullish on the business,” but they nevertheless “think expectations going into 2018 are high.” Read the full story here.
;
