Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

DGX has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $157.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Quest Diagnostics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.15.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Down 1.2 %

Quest Diagnostics stock traded down $1.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $155.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,725,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,881. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $123.04 and a 1-year high of $165.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael J. Deppe sold 18,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $2,889,207.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 34,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,661.05. This represents a 34.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 340.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Quest Diagnostics during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,000. 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.