Quest Diagnostics' (DGX) Buy (B) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "buy" rating for Quest Diagnostics (DGX), despite mixed signals from other research firms regarding price targets and ratings.
• Quest Diagnostics reported earnings of $2.62 per share and revenue of $2.76 billion for the last quarter, exceeding consensus estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.2%.
• The stock has a current market capitalization of $20.22 billion and has fluctuated between a fifty-two week low of $146.91 and a high of $191.49.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on DGX. UBS Group dropped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Baird R W cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.63.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $1.04 on Wednesday, reaching $180.85. 745,301 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 842,016. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.56. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $146.91 and a fifty-two week high of $191.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.26.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%.The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.630-9.830 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total value of $42,705.51. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 38,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,170,951.21. The trade was a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $375,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,500. This trade represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,186 shares of company stock worth $9,647,471 in the last 90 days. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter valued at about $1,228,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,010 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 7,081 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 10.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,577 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.

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