Why Exact Sciences Stock Blasted Higher on Tuesday

Cancer screening and diagnostics specialist Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS) was a standout stock on the second trading day of the week. Eager investors piled into it to leave it with a nearly 4% gain in price over the trading session, on a day when the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) suffered a 1.2% decline.

Significant upside surprise

Just after market close on Monday, Exact Sciences took the wraps off its third-quarter performance. Its revenue for the period set a new record at $851 million, for a robust 20% year-over-year increase. This was also well above the average analyst estimate of less than $811 million.

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The company also did well on the bottom line, with net income not according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) coming in at just shy of $53 million, or $0.28 per share. That surely knocked prognosticators for a loop, as they were collectively expecting a non-GAAP (adjusted) net loss of $0.03 per share.

In the earnings release, Exact Sciences attributed its gains to the increasing popularity of two key diagnostic products, Cologuard and Oncotype DX.

Two raises to accompany the beats

Management is clearly feeling confident about the direction in which Exact Sciences is going, as it raised certain guidance items.

For the entirety of 2025, it's now modeling $3.22 billion to almost $3.24 billion for revenue, up from the previous range of $3.13 billion to $3.17 billion. The new adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) projection for the year is $470 million to $480 million, some distance up from the preceding estimate of $455 million to $475 million.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Exact Sciences. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.