Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Piper Sandler Analyst Says

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $180.00 to $200.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.96% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $178.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $169.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

Shares of DGX traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $175.50. 325,434 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,240,819. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $134.50 and a 12 month high of $178.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.16.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Equities analysts expect that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.30, for a total value of $66,212.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,624 shares in the company, valued at $759,723.20. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 39,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.46, for a total value of $6,602,115.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 127,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,499,370.58. The trade was a 23.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,903 shares of company stock worth $9,460,221. 8.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 35.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,922 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,407,000 after purchasing an additional 78,980 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,004 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,719,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its position in Quest Diagnostics by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 34,708 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,388,000 after buying an additional 4,024 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 45.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,180,000 after acquiring an additional 17,240 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.