5 Best Biotech Stocks to Buy According to Cathie Wood

2. Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41    

Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) is a Wisconsin-based biotechnology firm founded in 1995. It is placed second on our list of 10 best biotech stocks to buy according to Cathie Wood. Exact stock has returned more than 26% to investors in the past year. ARK Investment Management holds more than 9 million shares in the molecular diagnostics firm worth over $1.2 billion. This represents close to 2.4% of the entire investment portfolio. Exact Sciences develops and markets testing products for cancer. 

On May 4, Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) reported earnings per share of -$0.18 for the first quarter of 2021, beating market estimates by $0.84. The revenue over the period was more than $400 million, up more than 15% year-on-year. 

At the end of the first quarter of 2021, 41 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $2.4 billion in Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS), up from 40 in the previous quarter worth $1.8 billion.

In its Q4 2020 investor letter, RiverPark Advisors, LLC, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“EXAS shares were the final top contributor for the quarter on both the acquisition of Thrive Earlier Detection, a leading multi-cancer screening company, and strong earnings. Third quarter revenue grew 87% to $408 million, including $102 million from COVID19 testing, and the company reported a 77% gross margin and $94 million of adjusted EBITDA, up 16% year over year.

The company’s Thrive acquisition combines cancer screening pioneers, specifically integrating Thrive’s early-stage cancer screening test CancerSEEK, with Exact’s scientific platform, clinical organization, and commercial infrastructure (the largest commercial team by far with over 1,000 people in cancer diagnostics). Thrive’s recent CancerSEEK study is the only liquid biopsy clinical trial that screens undiagnosed patients. Combined with Exact’s own multi-cancer liquid biopsy screening test (management disclosed compelling data on it for the first-time), Exact has quickly pivoted from its single cancer screening tests (Cologuard for colon cancer and Oncotype for breast cancer) and is now positioned as a leader in the $25 billion+ multi-cancer screening market.”