Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from buy to hold, though broader analyst sentiment remains mixed-to-positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $216.58.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting $2.50 EPS versus the $2.37 estimate and $2.90 billion in revenue versus expectations of $2.83 billion, with revenue up 9.2% year over year.
• Shares were trading around $209.73, near the stock’s 52-week high of $213.50, while insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans, including the CEO and an SVP.

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.58.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of DGX stock opened at $209.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $195.83 and a 200 day moving average of $192.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $23.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.59. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $164.65 and a twelve month high of $213.50.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. This represents a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Key Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.06% of the company's stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.

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