Exact Sciences Stock Soars To 4-Year High Even As Wall Street Piles On Downgrades After Abbott Deal — Retail Traders Take Profits

• Brokerages including Barclays, Wells Fargo, Citi, Leerink, Guggenheim and Baird cut their ratings.
• Abbott’s acquisition values Exact Sciences at about $21 billion in equity and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
• Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was ‘extremely bullish for both stocks,’ with some users selling into the buyout pop and warning of downside risk if the deal’s details shift or fall through.

Exact Sciences Corp’s shares climbed to a four-year high on Thursday, extending gains even as a series of brokerages lowered their ratings on the stock following the proposed sale to Abbott. The deal represents an upside of about 22% from the stock’s Wednesday closing price.

On Thursday, Exact Sciences' shares jumped 17% to close at $100.67 and added another 0.1% in after-hours trading, while Abbott's stock fell 1.7% to end at $123.97 before inching up slightly after the close.

Wall Street Downgrades Ratings

Barclays cut its rating to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Overweight’ and set a $105 target. Wells Fargo lowered the stock to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Overweight’ while lifting its target from $85 to $105. William Blair shifted its view to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform’, and Wolfe Research moved to ‘Peer Perform’ from ‘Outperform’.

BTIG also downgraded Exact Sciences to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ after the acquisition was announced. The firm said the premium “caught us by surprise,” adding that it views the transaction as “a great outcome” for Exact and “a good deal” for Abbott.

Citi, which downgraded the stock to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ while raising its price target from $85 to $105, said it sees “minimal risk” on any antitrust or regulatory issues and does not expect another bidder to come in.

Leerink reduced its rating to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform’ with a $105 target. Guggenheim moved to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’, and Baird lowered the stock to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Outperform’ with a $105 target. All firms cited the transaction terms when adjusting their recommendations.

Deal Terms

The deal values Exact Sciences at about $21 billion in equity value and roughly $23 billion in enterprise value, which includes about $1.8 billion in net debt. The companies expect the deal to close in the second quarter of 2026. Abbott said the purchase will strengthen its revenue-growth profile and improve its gross margin outlook. Exact Sciences will remain headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, and CEO Kevin Conroy will transition to an advisory role following transaction closure.

Exact Sciences is expected to generate more than $3 billion in revenue this year with a high-teens organic growth rate. Once the transaction is completed, Abbott’s total diagnostics revenue is projected to exceed $12 billion annually. The boards of both companies approved the deal unanimously.

Abbott’s Cancer-Diagnostics Expansion

Abbott claimed the deal would expand its diagnostics portfolio to include Exact Sciences’ cancer-screening and precision-oncology platforms, such as Cologuard, Oncotype DX, Cancerguard, and multiple liquid-biopsy and molecular residual-disease tests. The firm added that the purchase would strengthen its position in rapidly growing areas of the cancer-detection market as global demand for earlier diagnosis rises.

Combining the two companies will expand access to cancer diagnostics and accelerate the development of new tools for screening, treatment decisions, and ongoing monitoring.

Stocktwits Users Take Profits Amid Buyout Pop

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for both stocks was ‘extremely bullish’, with message volume being ‘extremely high’ for Exact Sciences and ‘high’ for Abbott.

One user said, “I have also owned $EXAS but sold yesterday on a nice buyout pop.”

Another user said, “$EXAS sold this morning closer to $102.  Only downside risk from here once details of the deal comeout or if it falls apart”

While Exact Sciences’ stock has surged 79% so far in 2025, Abbott’s stock has jumped 12% over the same period.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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