For a company operating in an area of great investor interest, even a mild quarterly earnings beat can really juice its stock price. That was the dynamic behind artificial intelligence (AI)-powered healthcare-solutions provider Exscientia's (NASDAQ: EXAI) more than 6% leap in share price on Wednesday. That made the stock quite an outlier, as the S&P 500 index slipped by 0.7% on the day.

Exscientia, which harnesses AI in the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals, published its first-quarter results well before market open. The U.K.-based company earned $7.1 million in revenue for the period. While this was down notably from the $8.6 million it booked in the same quarter of 2022, it exceeded the average analyst projection of nearly $6.3 million.

As for the bottom line, Exscientia's net loss deepened considerably. It was $46.6 million for the quarter, or $0.38 per share, compared to the year-ago deficit of $19.1 million. Again, though, prognosticators following the stock were expecting worse -- specifically, an $0.40 per-share loss, on average.

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Source Fool.com