Exact Sciences shares soared by 30 percent after the Madison biotech company reported a strong second quarter.
The company, whose Cologuard test offers a non-invasive screening alternative to a colonoscopy, completed 54,000 tests in the second quarter ending June 30. That meant revenues rose 161 percent to $21.2 million compared to $8.1 million in the same period of 2015. Its losses, though, climbed to $44.8 million from $39.1 million, partly due to its marketing expenditures.
The stock hit as high as $17.47 per share yesterday and closed Tuesday at $16.21 per share.
It’s another round of good news for the company. Its stock sunk last year following a disappointing preliminary decision from a federal prevention task force, which has since reversed its ruling.
That move helped Exact Sciences get listed on a proposed quality measure that more than 90 percent of insurers use when deciding which procedures to cover.
And though the stock has recovered, insurers “take time” in making such decisions, so the effects won’t be fully reflected right away, Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy said on an earnings call. But Conroy said their negotiations with insurers have changed significantly since.
“From a private payer perspective, it’s almost like it happened yesterday,” he said. “We see a positive tone and a trend to the conversations. We know that it is something that’s going to take time.”
The company says it continues to expect it will complete more than 240,000 Cologuard tests throughout the year and have revenues between $90 and $100 million.
— By Polo Rocha,
WisBusiness.com
