Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Baird R W

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by investment analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.75.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE DGX opened at $157.12 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $17.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $120.87 and a 52 week high of $159.94.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total transaction of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Quest Diagnostics

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.