Wall Street Zen Downgrades Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) to Hold

by · The Markets Daily

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on DGX. Truist Financial raised their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $207.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.27.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

DGX opened at $182.62 on Friday. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $153.99 and a 1-year high of $197.55. The stock has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO J. E. Davis sold 55,093 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.22, for a total value of $10,589,976.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. This trade represents a 31.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,410,745.50. This represents a 51.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,289 shares of company stock valued at $12,318,360. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 18,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 185 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

About Quest Diagnostics

(Get Free Report)

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) is a leading provider of diagnostic information services that supports clinical decision-making for patients, physicians and healthcare organizations. The company operates a network of clinical laboratories and patient service centers that perform a broad range of laboratory tests and diagnostic assays used in routine care, disease diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Its services span core clinical laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, molecular and genomic diagnostics, infectious disease testing and toxicology.

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