Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Price

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Barclays from $210.00 to $225.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.47% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $203.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Quest Diagnostics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.86.

Quest Diagnostics Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of DGX opened at $205.54 on Wednesday. Quest Diagnostics has a 52-week low of $157.20 and a 52-week high of $207.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.77. The company has a market capitalization of $22.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.66.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.07. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 15.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Quest Diagnostics’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 EPS for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Quest Diagnostics

In other Quest Diagnostics news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total value of $239,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at $3,267,015.12. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Mark E. Delaney sold 7,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.35, for a total value of $1,488,683.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,410,745.50. This represents a 51.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 64,289 shares of company stock worth $12,318,360. Corporate insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 114.3% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC acquired a new position in shares of Quest Diagnostics during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 113.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Quest Diagnostics in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Quest Diagnostics

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and full?year guidance: Quest reported Q4 revenue of $2.81B (up 7.1% YoY) and adjusted EPS of $2.42, beating consensus. Management provided FY?2026 guidance (reported diluted EPS $9.45–9.65; adjusted diluted EPS $10.50–10.70 and revenue $11.70B–$11.82B). Investors are rewarding the top?line strength and clear forward outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Share repurchase authorization: The board approved an incremental $1.0B buyback (up to ~4.7% of shares), a direct capital return signal that typically supports the share price. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raise: Quest hiked the quarterly dividend 7.5% to $0.86 (marking 15 consecutive years of increases), which appeals to income investors and supports valuation multiples. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy on DGX today, citing a strong 2026 outlook, margin expansion and growth in higher?margin segments — a catalyst for momentum buying. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi raised its price target to $215 but kept a Neutral rating — indicates some upside in the stock but not an outright upgrade from a large shop. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer?term product news: CEO comments highlighted progress on blood?based Alzheimer’s testing, which could expand higher?margin services over time but is not an immediate revenue driver. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EPS guidance context: While revenue guidance was solid, reported FY?2026 EPS guidance (9.45–9.65) sits near or slightly below some street models — some analysts may view the EPS outlook as conservative, which could cap near?term upside until visibility improves. Read More.

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.