Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Raised to Outperform at Leerink Partners

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by Leerink Partners from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $174.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $169.00. Leerink Partners’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.15% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $154.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $153.78 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.85. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $123.04 and a 12 month high of $165.32. The firm has a market cap of $17.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DGX. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in 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. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.