Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $225.00 to $230.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 15.49% from the stock’s previous close.
DGX has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $224.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.54.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 2.4%
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.07%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.630-10.830 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Quest Diagnostics declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics
In other news, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $588,729.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,133,979.58. The trade was a 15.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $799,682.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 37,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,744,628.97. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,262. Company 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 company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,497,458,000 after purchasing an additional 140,450 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $934,033,000 after purchasing an additional 158,617 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,978,000 after purchasing an additional 997,033 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $467,415,000 after purchasing an additional 406,658 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,548 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $335,204,000 after purchasing an additional 24,038 shares during the period. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Quest Diagnostics News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and raised FY‑2026 outlook — Quest reported stronger-than-expected Q1 revenue and EPS and raised its 2026 guidance, with the CEO citing broad‑based growth across consumer testing and advanced diagnostics. That fundamental beat is the primary bullish catalyst. Quest Diagnostics raises 2026 forecast, CEO highlights broad‑based growth
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised estimates and price targets after Q1 — Several firms lifted forecasts/targets (UBS, Robert W. Baird, Barclays, Truist) and coverage pieces highlighted upgraded revenue/earnings outlooks, supporting upside to consensus. These Analysts Boost Their Forecasts On Quest Diagnostics After Better-Than-Expected Earnings
- Positive Sentiment: Technical/market‑strength signal — IBD upgraded Quest for improved price strength, which can attract momentum and retail flows. IBD rating upgrades: Quest Diagnostics shows improved price strength
- Positive Sentiment: Zacks/style momentum coverage — Commentary suggesting DGX is a momentum stock may reinforce interest from style‑focused funds. Here’s Why Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is a Strong Momentum Stock
- Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / deep dive pieces — Multiple writeups summarize the call and the shifting investment story (organic growth, consumer testing momentum, advanced diagnostics). Useful for longer‑term thesis but less likely to move the tape intraday. Quest Diagnostics Inc (DGX) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights DGX Q1 deep dive
- Negative Sentiment: Hedge fund short call — Hedgeye added DGX as a new short idea, creating headline risk and giving short sellers a narrative to increase pressure in the near term. That can amplify intraday selling even with positive fundamentals. Quest Diagnostics added as new short idea at Hedgeye
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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