# Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/DGX · data as of 2026-10-22 20:03 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX), nexqual.com/DGX" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 243.28 (+1.82% on the day) · last close of Oct 22, 2026; US market pre market, not a live price. Prev close 238.93 · day 226.5–246 · 52w 171.18–248.84 · market cap $26.9B · NYQ

## Key facts
- Last four reported quarters (through Jun 30, 2026): revenue $11.6B, net income $1.06B (9.2% margin), free cash flow $1.35B (SEC filings).
- Valuation: P/E 25.3x (avg 19.2x at the last 3 fiscal year-ends), EV/EBITDA 14.4x, net debt $5.02B.
- 2 of 80 tracked superinvestors hold DGX (13F, Q2 2026): 0 new, 1 added, 1 reduced, 0 unchanged.
- Insider open-market sales, last ~7 months: 5 Form 4 filings, $11.9M; 0 not under a Rule 10b5-1 plan ($0K); 0 by opportunistic insiders, 1 by routine insiders (three-year test, Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski 2012).
- Analysts: Buy (mean 2.35 on a 1–5 scale) (17 analysts), mean target USD 254.73 (range 235–275).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +35.0% vs S&P 500 +14.9%; 5Y +82.9% vs S&P 500 +80.3%.
- Next earnings: 2026-10-22, EPS estimate USD 2.68, revenue estimate $3.04B.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $10.8B | $9.88B | $9.25B | $9.87B | $11.0B | $11.6B |
| Gross profit | $4.21B | $3.43B | $3.05B | $3.24B | $3.67B | — |
| Operating income | $2.38B | $1.43B | $1.26B | $1.35B | $1.56B | $1.63B |
| Net income | $2.00B | $946M | $854M | $871M | $992M | $1.06B |
| EPS (diluted) | $15.55 | $7.97 | $7.49 | $7.69 | $8.75 | — |
| Free cash flow | $1.83B | $1.31B | $864M | $909M | $1.36B | $1.35B |
| Gross margin | 39.0% | 34.7% | 33.0% | 32.9% | 33.2% | — |
| Operating margin | 22.1% | 14.4% | 13.6% | 13.6% | 14.1% | 14.1% |
| Net margin | 18.5% | 9.6% | 9.2% | 8.8% | 9.0% | 9.2% |
| Revenue growth | +14.3% | -8.4% | -6.4% | +6.7% | +11.8% | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $872M | $315M | $686M | $549M | $420M | — |
| Total debt | $4.01B | $3.98B | $4.71B | $6.22B | $5.67B | — |
Fiscal years end Dec. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Jun 30, 2026)
P/E 25.3x · P/S 2.3x · EV/EBITDA 14.4x · EV/Sales 2.8x · P/FCF 19.9x · P/B 3.6x · FCF yield 5.02% · Earnings yield 3.96% · Dividend yield (paid, TTM) 1.35% · Net debt $5.02B · EV $31.9B
P/E at fiscal year-ends: Dec 2025 19.8x, Dec 2024 19.6x, Dec 2023 18.2x.

## Superinvestors (SEC 13F-HR, Q2 2026)
2 of 80 tracked investors hold DGX. Each row is the investor's latest 13F; change is vs their prior-quarter share count.
| Investor | Firm | % of portfolio | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Davis | Davis Advisors | 1.42% | $330M | Reduced -3.8% |
| First Eagle Investment | First Eagle Investment Management | <0.01% | $1.6M | Added +153.5% |

## Insider sales (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
5 of 5 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (scheduled in advance). Unplanned sales were timed by the insider.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | % of holdings sold | 10b5-1 plan | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | Davis J. E. | CEO and President | 10,000 | $2.4M | 7.6% | Yes | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2024) |
| 2026-08-28 | Prevoznik Michael E | SVP & General Counsel | 22,677 | $5.5M | 34.9% | Yes | Routine (sold in Feb each year 2023–2025; this trade is outside those months) |
| 2026-07-28 | Delaney Mark E | SVP & Chief Commercial Officer | 1,600 | $376K | 13.4% | Yes | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-06-04 | Kuppusamy Karthik | SVP, Clinical Solutions | 8,147 | $1.6M | 34.3% | Yes | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023) |
| 2026-06-01 | Davis J. E. | CEO and President | 10,000 | $1.9M | 7% | Yes | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2024) |
% of holdings sold = shares sold ÷ (shares sold + all holdings the insider reported on that Form 4, direct and through trusts).
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Analysts
Consensus Buy (mean 2.35 on a 1–5 scale), 17 analysts; mean target USD 254.73 (low 235, high 275).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-07 | Barclays | Target raised | Overweight | $250 → $260 |
| 2026-09-21 | Truist Securities | Target raised | Hold | $250 → $260 |
| 2026-09-08 | UBS | Target raised | Neutral | $232 → $245 |
| 2026-07-28 | JP Morgan | Target raised | Neutral | $220 → $250 |
| 2026-07-25 | UBS | Target raised | Neutral | $220 → $232 |
| 2026-07-24 | Mizuho | Target raised | Outperform | $235 → $260 |
| 2026-07-24 | Truist Securities | Target raised | Hold | $225 → $250 |
| 2026-07-24 | Barclays | Target raised | Overweight | $230 → $250 |
| 2026-07-24 | Baird | Target raised | Neutral | $236 → $255 |
| 2026-07-13 | Baird | Target raised | Neutral | $232 → $236 |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-23) | 5Y (from 2021-10-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +35.0% | +82.9% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.9% | +80.3% |
| Per year | +35.1% | +12.8% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 23.7% | 21.5% |
| Max drawdown | -11.6% (Feb 2026→May 2026) | -28.3% (Dec 2021→Sep 2022) |

## Peers (Diagnostics & Research)
LH (Labcorp Holdings Inc.) USD 329.93 +1.91% · GH (Guardant Health, Inc.) USD 162.94 -2.23% · MTD (Mettler-Toledo International, I) USD 1,684.64 +0.40% · MEDP (Medpace Holdings, Inc.) USD 653.96 -1.29% · RVTY (Revvity, Inc.) USD 157.36 +0.48% · ILMN (Illumina, Inc.) USD 269.4 -4.76%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/DGX · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Supply chain and relationships (SEC annual reports)

Named in DGX's own 10-K filed 2026-02-26 (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1022079/000102207926000015/dgx-20251231.htm):

| Relationship | Company | Sentence in the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Partner | Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL) | "In 2025, we announced a collaboration with Google to use Google Cloud's data analytics and generative AI to help us streamline our data management, improve data analytics, and personalize the experiences we deliver to pa…" |

## Revenue by business segment (quarter ended 2026-06-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY | Operating income | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS business | $2.98B | 97.9% | +10.3% | $541.0M | 18.2% |
| All other operating segments | $65.0M | 2.1% | +4.8% | $10.0M | 15.4% |
| Total revenue | $3.04B | 100% | — | $459.0M | 15.1% |

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-12-31) | $2.68 | $2.66 | +0.8% | $3.04B | 12 |
| Next quarter (ends 2027-03-31) | $2.73 | $2.73 | -0.2% | $3.03B | 10 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-12-31) | $11.27 | $11.07 | +1.8% | $12.06B | 14 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-12-31) | $12.00 | $11.94 | +0.6% | $12.60B | 16 |

## Options: expected move (Cboe, 15-min delayed)

| Expiration | Days | ATM IV | Expected move |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-20 | 28 | 25.5% | ±5.9% |
| 2026-12-18 | 56 | 25.8% | ±8.3% |
| 2027-02-19 | 119 | 25.2% | ±11.6% |
| 2027-05-21 | 210 | 25.1% | ±15.3% |