What Happened?
Shares of diagnostic company Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) jumped 2.2% in the afternoon session after the Nancy Gardner Sewell MCED Act advanced in the U.S. House, a development that could lead to Medicare coverage for multi-cancer early detection tests.
This move was significant for Exact Sciences, which is targeting FDA approval for its own multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test, called Cancerguard. The legislation passed unanimously in the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, signaling a crucial step toward securing Medicare coverage for such diagnostic tools. If the bill becomes law, it would greatly expand market access for tests like Cancerguard, making them available to a large population of seniors and potentially boosting the company's future revenue.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $54.21, up 2% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Exact Sciences’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 14 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 21 days ago when the stock gained 6.3% on the news that RBC Capital Markets raised its price target on the company.
The investment bank increased its forecast for the stock's price to $50 from a previous target of $46, suggesting analysts see a higher potential value for the company's shares. However, it's important for investors to note that RBC maintained its "Sector Perform" rating on Exact Sciences. This rating indicates that the firm expects the stock to perform in line with the broader healthcare diagnostics sector, rather than significantly outperforming it. Adding to the broader market context, a recent industry report identified Exact Sciences as a key player in the growing U.S. prostate cancer biomarkers market.
Exact Sciences is down 4.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $54.21 per share, it is trading 24.6% below its 52-week high of $71.93 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Exact Sciences’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $554.91.
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