Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $255.00 at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised its price target on Quest Diagnostics to $255 from $236, while keeping a neutral rating. The new target implies about 12% upside from the prior close.
• Quest Diagnostics reported Q2 earnings and revenue above estimates, posting EPS of $3.12 on revenue of $3.04 billion, with revenue up 10.2% year over year. The company also raised full-year 2026 guidance for both EPS and revenue.
• The stock moved higher after the results, and recent analyst commentary has been mixed but generally constructive, with several firms lifting targets and the consensus rating remaining Moderate Buy. Insider selling by the CEO and an SVP was also disclosed, though both trades were made under pre-arranged trading plans.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $236.00 to $255.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the medical research company's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.08% from the stock's previous close.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.09.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 8.4%

Shares of NYSE DGX opened at $227.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.18. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $165.78 and a 52-week high of $237.78. The stock has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $202.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.37.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at 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 Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total value of $1,941,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 132,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. 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. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1,728.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 128 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Quest Diagnostics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quest Diagnostics reported Q2 revenue of $3.04 billion, up 10.2% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $3.12, topping Wall Street estimates. Quest Diagnostics Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results; Raises Revenue and EPS Guidance for Full Year 2026
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting adjusted EPS of $11.05 to $11.25 and revenue of about $11.95 billion to $12.05 billion, signaling confidence in continued demand. Quest Diagnostics raises annual forecast on testing demand
• Positive Sentiment: Investors also appeared encouraged by commentary around strong preventive-health testing trends and growth in the company’s diagnostics business, which supports the stock’s upside move. Americans Are Buying More Preventive Health Tests—and Quest Diagnostics Is Winning

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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