Wall Street Zen Upgrades Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) to "Buy"

Key Points

• Quest Diagnostics has been upgraded from "hold" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased bullish sentiment toward the stock.
• Various research analysts have revised their price targets for DGX, with estimates ranging from $195 to $210, reflecting confidence in the company's growth potential.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.60, exceeding analyst estimates, and achieves a year-over-year revenue increase of 13.2%.

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

Several other research analysts have also commented on DGX. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W downgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $196.31.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of DGX stock opened at $182.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Quest Diagnostics has a fifty-two week low of $148.70 and a fifty-two week high of $197.55. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $182.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.78. The stock has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.56.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The medical research company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 9.760-9.840 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.13, for a total transaction of $42,705.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 38,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,170,951.21. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 1,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $365,375.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,269 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,824,765. This represents a 11.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,668 shares of company stock worth $9,917,788. Company insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,233,576 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,556,777,000 after purchasing an additional 296,860 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,984,238 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,012,534,000 after buying an additional 493,960 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.4% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,039,848 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $545,318,000 after buying an additional 744,102 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $533,563,000 after buying an additional 208,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,658,351 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $297,890,000 after purchasing an additional 381,619 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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.