Exact Sciences price target lowered to $67 from $82 at Stifel

Stifel lowered the firm’s price target on Exact Sciences (EXAS) to $67 from $82 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Below-consensus Q3 results and a reduced Q4 outlook stem from multiple issues – lower demand at primary care offices, impact of hurricanes, a slower ramp-up for new reps, and transitional challenges on ExactNexus – and while some of this is rooted in execution or lack thereof, the “big question that will emerge is the extent to which the stool-based market is structurally slowing,” the analyst tells investors. However, the low level of visibility tied to the two critical issues of the Cologuard trajectory and performance of blood-based assays makes Exact the biggest “just gotta trust them” stock in the group, the analyst added.