Robert W. Baird Upgrades Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) to Outperform

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $182.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $157.00. Robert W. Baird’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.19% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on DGX. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $144.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $158.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.33.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 0.6 %

DGX opened at $158.00 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $121.60 and a one year high of $160.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Insider Transactions at Quest Diagnostics

In other news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,990 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.26, for a total value of $304,987.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,206.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the first quarter worth $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.