Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Posted by ABMN Staff on Feb 14th, 2026

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on Quest Diagnostics from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Quest Diagnostics from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $220.00 price objective on Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.93.

Get Our Latest Research Report on DGX

Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance

Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $206.66 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $183.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.40. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $157.20 and a 52 week high of $213.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The medical research company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 8.99%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. Quest Diagnostics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.45-9.650 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 9.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Quest Diagnostics declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 1,250 shares of Quest Diagnostics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.76, for a total transaction of $239,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,037 shares in the company, valued at $3,267,015.12. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.00, for a total transaction of $1,155,048.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,137,724. This trade represents a 26.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 69,951 shares of company stock worth $13,473,408 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Quest Diagnostics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Quest Diagnostics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,392,082 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,497,458,000 after purchasing an additional 140,450 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,382,547 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $934,033,000 after buying an additional 158,617 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 32.8% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,036,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,978,000 after buying an additional 997,033 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 7.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,982,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $533,563,000 after acquiring an additional 208,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,693,568 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $467,415,000 after acquiring an additional 406,658 shares in the last quarter. 88.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Quest Diagnostics

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

Positive Sentiment: Better-than-expected Q4 results and 2026 guidance: Q4 EPS $2.42 vs. $2.35 est., revenue $2.81B vs. $2.75B est., and FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $9.45–$9.65 — supports the recent run to a 12‑month high. Quest Diagnostics Hits New 12-Month High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings
Positive Sentiment: $1.0 billion share repurchase authorization (~4.7% of shares outstanding): board buyback typically supports EPS and signals management thinks shares are undervalued. Quest Diagnostics Board Approves Stock Repurchase Program
Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: quarterly dividend raised to $0.86 (annualized $3.44), up from $0.80 — incremental income support and a sign of confidence in cash flow. Quest Diagnostics Has Announced That It Will Be Increasing Its Dividend To $0.86
Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Mizuho upgraded to Buy and raised its target to $235 (largest recent target raise), and Citigroup published a constructive price‑appreciation forecast — these lifts can attract demand and support the stock. Quest Diagnostics Gets a Buy from Mizuho Securities Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Quest Diagnostics
Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/mean‑reversion questions: coverage pieces note DGX is at a 52‑week high and review whether recent strength is sustainable — useful for gauging risk/reward but not new fundamental data. Can the Run Continue?
Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Patrick Plewman sold 5,662 shares (~27% of his holding) at about $204 — insider sales can be viewed negatively by some investors even when proceeds are routine. SVP Patrick Plewman Sells 5,662 Shares

About Quest Diagnostics

(Get Free Report)

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.