Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Quest Diagnostics from “buy” to “hold”, adding to a mixed analyst picture on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, the broader analyst consensus remains Moderate Buy, with 7 buy ratings and 7 hold ratings and an average price target of $217.17.
• Quest Diagnostics recently beat quarterly expectations, posting $2.50 EPS on $2.90 billion in revenue, while management also set FY 2026 EPS guidance of $10.63 to $10.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on DGX. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings raised Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $217.17.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $210.87 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.58. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $200.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $165.30 and a one year high of $219.20.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. Quest Diagnostics's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,000. This trade represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DGX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $229,522,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $767,978,000 after acquiring an additional 997,033 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,661,072 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $288,246,000 after acquiring an additional 811,320 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,114,451 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $193,391,000 after acquiring an additional 450,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 36.3% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,599,602 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $287,337,000 after acquiring an additional 426,399 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics NYSE: DGX is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.