Leerink Partnrs Upgrades Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) to “Strong-Buy”

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Leerink Partnrs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on DGX. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target 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 upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX opened at $153.78 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics has a twelve month low of $123.04 and a twelve month high of $165.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $156.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.85.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.04. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the business’s 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 owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. The trade was a 34.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 1,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.92, for a total value of $278,533.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,459.28. This represents a 15.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 77.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 229 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth $40,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the third quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter worth $74,000. 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.