Exact Sciences Corp. (EXAS) Rose Following the Acquisition Announcement

Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Growth Fund” fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. U.S. equity markets experienced a quarter shaped by optimism around potential monetary easing and caution related to economic growth and valuations. Early gains were driven by strong AI-related earnings and the US Federal Reserve’s rate cut in October. However, market sentiment cooled later in the quarter due to mixed signals from the Fed regarding future policy. Despite this moderation, the quarter contributed positively to robust annual results, with large caps rising 17.4% for the year and 2.4% in the quarter, while small caps gained 12.8% for the year and 2.2% in the quarter. Value stocks outperformed growth, returning 3.3% versus 1.2% for the quarter. Market factors and sector effects were mixed in the quarter. Against this backdrop, the Fund delivered a return of -0.39% (net) in the quarter, underperforming the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 0.33% return. As the market heads into 2026, the firm is closely watching the factors that may affect market returns, including monetary policy changes with a new Fed Chair and the sustainability of AI investments due to high valuations among hyperscalers. The firm continues to focus on high-quality businesses with strong competitive advantages, solid balance sheets, and clear sustainable earnings growth. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Meridian Growth Fund highlighted Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) one of its leading contributors. Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) provides cancer screening and diagnostic test products. On January 26, 2026, Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) stock closed at $102.51 per share. One-month return of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) was 0.60%, and its shares gained 85.00% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) has a market capitalization of $19.468 billion.

Meridian Growth Fund stated the following regarding Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:

“Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) is a cancer diagnostics company best known for Cologuard, its at-home screening test for colorectal cancer. The stock initially rose during the quarter on signs of reinvigorated growth and the introduction of a new test that drove revenue higher. Performance was further boosted in November when Abbott announced plans to acquire Exact Sciences at a significant premium.”

Exact Sciences (EXAS): Among Billionaire George Soros’ Small-Cap Stocks with Huge Upside Potential

Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 52 hedge fund portfolios held Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) at the end of the third quarter, up from 50 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) and shared Alger Small Cap Focus Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.