Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased confidence in the stock's performance.
• Several analysts have set higher price targets for Quest Diagnostics, with Barclays increasing its target from $175 to $185, and Piper Sandler raising it from $180 to $200.
• Quest Diagnostics reported $2.62 earnings per share for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.2%.

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

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $176.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $186.00.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $170.81 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $144.87 and a 1-year high of $182.38. The company has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.46. The company's fifty day moving average price is $174.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 2,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $375,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,436,500. This represents a 20.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 874 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.72, for a total transaction of $153,579.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,471,127.84. This trade represents a 9.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,353 shares of company stock worth $1,913,510. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.5% during the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,513 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 20,811 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,140,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.

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