Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

DGX stock opened at $202.28 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Quest Diagnostics announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,158,665.60. This represents a 31.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 1,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.83, for a total transaction of $227,566.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 38,371 shares in the company, valued at $7,859,531.93. This trade represents a 2.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 65,507 shares of company stock valued at $12,702,039 over the last three months. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 117.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 5,034 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 2,720 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the third quarter valued at $4,713,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 2,531.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 450,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $85,932,000 after purchasing an additional 433,764 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 125.1% during the 3rd quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 14,596 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 8,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter worth $5,757,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.