What happened
Shares of Exact Sciences (EXAS -0.46%) were soaring 17.3% higher as of 11 a.m. ET on Friday. The big gain came after the provider of cancer screening and diagnostics tests announced its third-quarter results following the market close on Thursday.
Exact Sciences reported Q3 revenue of $523.1 million, up 15% year over year. The company posted a net loss in the third quarter of $148.8 million, or $0.84 per share. Although this was a wider loss than recorded in the prior-year period, it was better than the consensus Wall Street estimate of a Q3 net loss of $1.08 per share.
In addition, Exact Sciences raised its full-year revenue guidance. The company now expects 2022 revenue of between $2.025 billion and $2.042 billion. The midpoint of this revised outlook is $33 million higher than the previous guidance.
So what
Exact Sciences shareholders needed some good news. The genetic testing stock had plunged nearly 60% year to date before the company's Q3 update.
The Q3 results were especially encouraging considering that Exact Sciences' COVID-19 testing revenue sank 64% year over year to $10.9 million. The company's revenue was also negatively impacted by the August 2022 divestiture of the Oncotype DX Genomic Prostate Score test.
Now what
Exact Sciences remains unprofitable. However, the company believes that it will continue to move in the right direction. It now expects to generate positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in the third quarter of 2023 -- sooner than the previous target of 2024.
