Exact Sciences Falls 4% On Larger-Than-Feared 4Q Loss

Shares of Exact Sciences Corporation fell 4.4% In Tuesday’s post-market trading after the cancer screening and diagnostic tests provider reported lower-than-expected 4Q earnings.

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Meanwhile, exact Sciences (EXAS) posted a loss per share of $2.79 during the fourth quarter, which was higher than the $0.22 loss per share expected by analysts. Revenue increased about 58% year-on-year to $466.3 million topping analysts’ estimates of $446.22 million.

During the quarter its screening revenue which includes revenue from Cologuard and Biomatrica products rose 9% to $249.7 million. Revenue from COVID-19 testing was $99.1 million. Exact Sciences acquired Base Genomics in 4Q and recorded the acquisition as a $412.6 million charge to R&D expense.

For fiscal 2020, the company generated sales of $1.49 billion, up from the $876.29 million posted in 2019. Diluted loss per share came in at $5.61 versus a loss of $0.64 in the comparable year-ago period.

Exact Sciences’ CEO Kevin Conroy said, “We aim to extend our leadership throughout the cancer continuum and bring additional tests to patients to help improve outcomes.”

Separately, the company also announced the acquisition of clinical genomics testing company Ashion Analytics and a 10-year research collaboration with City of Hope’s Genomics Institute. The transcation is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. (See Exact Sciences stock analysis on TipRanks)

On Jan. 27, Truist Financial analyst Sandy Draper initiated coverage on the stock with price target of $226 (46.5% upside potential) and a Buy rating. Draper noted that Exact Sciences’ proprietary colorectal cancer screening product has the potential to become the standard for screening in the market.

The analyst also sees Cologuard being recommended to patients aged 45-49 as providing a “huge new market opportunity.”

The rest of the Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on the stock. That’s based on 5 unanimous Buys. The average analyst price target of $177.40 implies about 15% upside from current levels. Thats after the stock has already run up 57% over the past year.