Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Earns “Neutral” Rating from Piper Sandler

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by investment analysts at Piper Sandler in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $180.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $165.00. Piper Sandler’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.14% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.69.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX opened at $163.43 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.81. Quest Diagnostics has a 1 year low of $123.18 and a 1 year high of $167.08.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 15.07%. Equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 5,168.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 451,403 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,080,000 after acquiring an additional 442,835 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 747,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $116,018,000 after purchasing an additional 151,365 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 881,764 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 113,956 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Quest Diagnostics by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,440 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $19,376,000 after purchasing an additional 108,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 543,472 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $81,994,000 after purchasing an additional 104,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

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.