Exact Sciences Spikes After Abbott Reveals Massive $23B Buyout Agreement

Exact Sciences Corporation shares surged dramatically in premarket trading on Thursday, November 20, 2025, following Abbott Laboratories’ announcement of a definitive agreement to acquire the cancer diagnostics company in a deal valued at up to $23 billion. The transaction represents one of Abbott’s largest acquisitions in nearly a decade and marks its first major push into cancer screening with preventative diagnostic devices.

Under the terms of the agreement, Exact Sciences shareholders will receive $105 per share in cash, representing a premium of approximately 21.8% to the stock’s previous closing price of $69.68.

Exact Sciences Portfolio Gives Abbott Immediate Scale in Oncology Diagnostics

The acquisition positions Abbott to enter and lead the fast-growing $60 billion U.S. cancer screening and precision oncology diagnostics segments. Exact Sciences brings a comprehensive portfolio of cancer detection and treatment guidance products, including the market-leading Cologuard colorectal cancer screening test, Oncotype DX for breast cancer treatment decisions, and cutting-edge liquid biopsy tests like Cancerguard for multi-cancer early detection and Oncodetect for molecular residual disease monitoring. The company is projected to generate more than $3 billion in revenue in 2025 with a high-teens organic sales growth rate.

Abbott CEO Robert B. Ford emphasized that Exact Sciences’ innovation, strong brand, and customer-focused execution are unrivaled in the cancer diagnostics space. Once the transaction is completed, Exact Sciences will become a subsidiary of Abbott, and Abbott’s total diagnostics sales will exceed $12 billion annually.

The acquisition will be immediately accretive to Abbott’s revenue growth and gross margin, adding a new growth vertical to Abbott’s already high single-digit growth profile. Exact Sciences will maintain its presence in Madison, Wisconsin, with CEO Kevin Conroy remaining in an advisory role to support the transition and accelerate the company’s global impact in cancer eradication.

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• Stock Jumps Nearly 18% as Market Reacts to Buyout Premium

Exact Sciences stock jumped dramatically to $101.67 in premarket trading at 9:02 AM EST, representing a gain of $15.49 or 17.97% from the previous close. The stock had already closed up 23.68% at $86.18 on November 19 following reports of potential deal interest from Abbott.

The premarket surge reflects investor enthusiasm for the substantial premium being offered, with the $105 per share price representing significant value creation for shareholders who had watched the stock trade in a 52-week range of $38.81 to $89.67.

The company’s market capitalization reached approximately $16.3 billion at the premarket price, with the deal’s total equity value of $21 billion and enterprise value of approximately $23 billion accounting for Exact Sciences’ estimated $1.8 billion in net debt.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder approval and regulatory clearances. Analyst price targets for the stock had ranged from $54 to $100 prior to the announcement, with an average target of $82.32.

Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.