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

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Quest Diagnostics (DGX) from a "hold" to a "buy", though the analyst landscape remains split (seven Buy vs. eight Hold) with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a $214.54 consensus price target.
• Quest beat Q1 estimates (EPS $2.50 vs. $2.37; revenue $2.90B vs. $2.83B, revenue +9.2%), set FY2026 guidance of 10.630–10.830 EPS, and authorized a $1.00 billion share repurchase (~4.7% of outstanding shares).

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

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $214.54.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $195.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $200.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 37,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 5,558 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $1,146,115.18. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,122 shares in the company, valued at $13,841,227.62. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. Insiders own 8.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,232 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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