Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $236.00 to $255.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.08% from the stock’s previous close.

DGX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Quest Diagnostics from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.09.

Quest Diagnostics Trading Up 8.4%

Shares of DGX opened at $227.51 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.37. The company has a market capitalization of $25.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Quest Diagnostics has a 1-year low of $165.78 and a 1-year high of $237.78.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.30. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.07% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.050-11.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Quest Diagnostics

In related news, SVP Karthik Kuppusamy sold 8,147 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,629,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,510 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,000. The trade was a 37.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO J. E. Davis sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.14, for a total transaction of $1,941,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 132,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,708,601.22. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,292 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ossiam now owns 1,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 4,298 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Quest Diagnostics

Here are the key news stories impacting Quest Diagnostics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quest Diagnostics reported Q2 revenue of $3.04 billion, up 10.2% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $3.12, topping Wall Street estimates. Quest Diagnostics Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results; Raises Revenue and EPS Guidance for Full Year 2026
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised full-year 2026 guidance, now expecting adjusted EPS of $11.05 to $11.25 and revenue of about $11.95 billion to $12.05 billion, signaling confidence in continued demand. Quest Diagnostics raises annual forecast on testing demand
• Positive Sentiment: Investors also appeared encouraged by commentary around strong preventive-health testing trends and growth in the company’s diagnostics business, which supports the stock’s upside move. Americans Are Buying More Preventive Health Tests—and Quest Diagnostics Is Winning

About Quest Diagnostics

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.