What happened
Shares of Exact Sciences Corporation (EXAS -8.40%) were up 11.5% on Wednesday afternoon, a day after the biotech company announced first-quarter earnings. The company, which specializes in cancer diagnostics, has seen its shares rise about 60% so far this year.
So what
Analysts upgraded their targets for the healthcare stock on Wednesday after it turned in a strong first-quarter report.
- Exact Sciences reported quarterly revenue of $602 million, up 24%.
- The gains were driven by greater sales of the company's flagship product, Cologuard, which is used to detect colon cancer.
- The company reported a net loss of $74.2 million, or $0.42 in earnings per share (EPS), compared to a net loss of $180.9 million, or $1.04, in EPS loss in the first quarter of 2022.
- The business improved its cash position to $421.4 million, up from $242.5 million in the same period a year ago.
Exact Sciences also raised full-year revenue guidance to be between $2.38 billion and $2.42 billion, up from previous estimates of between $2.265 billion and $2.315 billion.
On top of that, the company said it expects to be free cash flow positive for the first time sometime during this year. That's ahead of its original projected target of 2024 for that accomplishment.
Now what
The company is seeing good uptake from other products besides Cologuard, including revenue from PreventionGenetics screenings. That's why its screening segment was the fastest growing in the quarter. Screening revenue was $443.2 million, up 45% year over year, while precision oncology was up 2% and COVID-19 testing was down 86% over the same period last year.
The need for cancer screenings is expected to grow as our population ages and particularly as millennials begin to reach middle age. The company also has strong potential in the multicancer early detection (MCED) test it is developing.
