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

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore set a $220.00 target price on Quest Diagnostics in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.29.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:DGX opened at $199.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.74. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $157.20 and a 12 month high of $213.50.

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

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Michael E. Prevoznik sold 3,878 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 2,855 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total value of $588,729.55. Following the completion of 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 24,083 shares of company stock worth $4,945,262 in the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Quest Diagnostics

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research expects higher Q4/near-term earnings for Quest, which supports the company’s fundamentals and could be a near-term tailwind if results and guidance confirm those estimates. Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for Quest Diagnostics
• Neutral Sentiment: Equity analysts have set/updated expectations for DGX Q4 earnings (consensus estimates being monitored ahead of the print); this keeps focus on results and guide as the primary near-term catalysts. Equities Analysts Set Expectations for DGX Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are driving implied volatility higher on DGX, indicating the market is pricing a larger-than-normal move around upcoming news (increases trading costs and can amplify share moves in either direction). Implied Volatility Surging for Quest Diagnostics Stock Options
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives completed sizable stock sales this week (SVPs and an EVP sold shares at ~ $204–$206 each). Combined disclosed sales total roughly $3.07M and represented single-digit to mid-teens percentage reductions in holdings — a negative signal that likely pressured the stock given concentration of selling among insiders. SEC Filing (Form 4) — Karthik Kuppusamy

About Quest Diagnostics

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.