There’s a lot to be optimistic about in the Healthcare sector as 2 analysts just weighed in on Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) and Orthofix (NASDAQ:OFIX) with bullish sentiments.
Exact Sciences (EXAS)
In a report released yesterday, Sean Lavin from BTIG maintained a Buy rating on Exact Sciences, with a price target of $70. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $50.80.
Lavin said:
“Wounds May Take A Last week, we spent time with EXAS’ management team in Boston. Most focus was on the Q2 miss. Mgmt believes it was a self-inflicted wound that hurt 1H. Due to some doctors becoming upset when a patient was surprised by a bill, from last the company told all patients who asked that they may be billed. Prior to that, patients were advised to check with insurance. The change was done to be super conservative and eliminate patient complaints to doctors, but it was executed poorly and led to reduced ordering. On top of this, kit returns vary each month, and randomly were on the lower end late in Q2. Starting May, company policy changed to tell patients that 85% of patients get no bill (now 90% +). Mgmt seems very confident Q3 will revert to a better result.”
According to TipRanks.com, Lavin is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 14.5% and a 62.3% success rate. Lavin covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Helius Medical Technologies, Tactile Systems Technology, and Obalon Therapeutics Inc.
Exact Sciences has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $66.14, representing a 30.2% upside. In a report issued on July 23, Merrill Lynch also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $75 price target.
.
See today’s analyst top recommended stocks >>
Orthofix (OFIX)
In a report released yesterday, Ryan Zimmerman from BTIG maintained a Buy rating on Orthofix, with a price target of $60. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $51.99.
Zimmerman commented:
“Lowering PT to $60 A confluence of negative factors (order timing, leadership changes, Fx, and product missteps) all hit OFIX in 2Q resulting in a miss on the top-line and a guidance reset for FY18. Revenue of $111.5M came in below BTIG/Consensus expectations of $114.8M/$114.6M while adj. EPS was $0.42 vs our $0.37 estimate. Revenue guidance for FY18 now stands at $450M – $456M (down from $458M – $464M). Some of the items were already made up in 3Q (BioStim order timing) or can be understood (Fx swings) but others were OFIX specific gaffes (i.e. timing of leadership changes and Rival missteps). Either way, we expect shares to be pressured, the question is how to view OFIX going forward.”
According to TipRanks.com, Zimmerman is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 28.6% and a 64.3% success rate. Zimmerman covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Integra Lifesciences, OrthoPediatrics Corp, and SeaSpine Holdings.
The word on The Street in general, suggests a Strong Buy analyst consensus rating for Orthofix with a $65.67 average price target, which is a 26.3% upside from current levels. In a report issued on August 6, Cantor Fitzgerald also reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $66 price target.
.
TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities.
