Free Trial

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Earns Outperform Rating from William Blair

Quest Diagnostics logo with Medical background

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by equities research analysts at William Blair in a research note issued on Wednesday,RTT News reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on DGX. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $195.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.69.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of DGX stock traded down $3.52 on Wednesday, reaching $168.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,877,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,283,198. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $18.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $174.51 and a 200-day moving average of $169.61. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $140.71 and a 12 month high of $182.38.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The firm 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 business's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total value of $153,579.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,471,127.84. The trade was a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 126.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 152 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 183 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 157.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 193 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company's stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

(Get Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories

Analyst Recommendations for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)

Should You Invest $1,000 in Quest Diagnostics Right Now?

Before you consider Quest Diagnostics, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Quest Diagnostics wasn't on the list.

While Quest Diagnostics currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

7 Stocks That Could Be Bigger Than Tesla, Nvidia, and Google Cover

Looking for the next FAANG stock before everyone has heard about it? Enter your email address to see which stocks MarketBeat analysts think might become the next trillion dollar tech company.

Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.

Featured Articles and Offers

Recent Videos

ACT FAST! Congress is Dumping these 3 Stocks
3 “Boring” Mega Cap Stocks to Turn Into Pure Profit
Joby vs. Archer: The $10 Billion eVTOL Battle

Stock Lists

All Stock Lists

Investing Tools

Calendars and Tools

Search Headlines