Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,500,000 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the March 31st total of 2,860,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $177.96. The company had a trading volume of 881,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,754. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $135.27 and a 1-year high of $179.32.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.80%. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total transaction of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.57, for a total transaction of $205,712.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,775,802.19. This represents a 6.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,490,278 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $828,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,525 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,690,021 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $404,764,000 after buying an additional 73,368 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,433,913 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $367,180,000 after buying an additional 916,898 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,268,990 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $342,300,000 after acquiring an additional 26,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at $191,823,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut Quest Diagnostics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $182.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $185.07.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.