Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Upgraded to Overweight at Barclays

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) was upgraded by analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $210.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.19% from the stock’s previous close.

DGX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.27.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Shares of DGX stock opened at $182.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $181.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.40. Quest Diagnostics has a 12 month low of $153.99 and a 12 month high of $197.55.

Insider Activity

In other Quest Diagnostics 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,158,665.60. This trade represents a 31.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total transaction of $1,488,683.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,745.50. This represents a 51.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 64,289 shares of company stock worth $12,318,360 in the last quarter. 8.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 369.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

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.