Invitae jumps on news of merger offer from Exact Sciences

Invitae (NYSE:NVTA) has gained ~9.2% in post-market trading amid reports that Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS) has approached the company for a possible merger.
Companies are not in active talks, and if a deal materializes, it could be an all-stock deal with a low premium, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. Exact Sciences (EXAS) has lost ~2.0% in after-hours.
In July, Exact Sciences (EXAS) slipped after the company’s Q2 2021 earnings lagged analyst expectations. The cash and cash equivalents at the company stood at ~$363.7M at the end of the quarter, compared to $1.5B in 2020.
As the graph indicates, Invitae shares have lost more than 30% in the year so far, underperforming the broader market. The average price target on Invitae (NVTA) stands at $40.44 on Wall Street.
Invitae (NVTA) backed by Ark Investment Management surged in March after ARK’s CEO Cathie Wood called the company “probably one of the most important companies in the genomic revolution."