Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Leerink Partners

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by Leerink Partners from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $174.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $169.00. Leerink Partners’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.53% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on DGX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $157.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DGX opened at $151.92 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $157.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.65. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total transaction of $278,533.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. The trade was a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,263,231 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $817,117,000 after acquiring an additional 70,578 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,616,653 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $404,838,000 after buying an additional 39,217 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 0.4% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,390,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $327,257,000 after buying an additional 9,665 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 6.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,109,515 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $288,758,000 after buying an additional 129,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 748,680 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $115,621,000 after acquiring an additional 15,047 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.