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Quest Diagnostics (DGX) to Aid Health Equity With New Pact

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Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (DGX - Free Report) recently announced that the company together with Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization and Quest Diagnostics Foundation, are partnering to offer no-cost diagnostic services and expanded telehealth services to free and charitable clinics across the United States. The latest collaboration will lessen the gaps in health across marginalized communities.

Since 1994, Quest Diagnostics has donated testing services to the Americares Free Clinics in Connecticut as part of their ongoing commitment to the organization.

More on Collaboration

Quest Diagnostics and Americares will provide 10 clinics with no-cost diagnostic services for one year to help patients manage chronic disease.

The Quest Diagnostics Foundation will also provide grants to Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, and Richmond, Va. clinics, allowing them to create or maintain telehealth services and improve access to treatment for low-income, uninsured or underinsured patients.

The award is a component of the Quest for Health Equity effort, which offers tools, funding, testing services, and educational programs to address health disparities in impoverished communities across the United States. The increased collaboration is anticipated to benefit more than 11,000 patients at the four clinics over the following year.

The funding for telehealth may be used to pay for tools or platform subscriptions, as well as for technical assistance with best practices, policies and implementation. Priority was given to clinics that offer services to underserved neighbourhoods and non-English speaking people.

Significance of Collaboration

For gaining a complete understanding of a person's health, diagnostic screening services are essential. Quest Diagnostics believes that by working with Americares, the company can increase the number of people with access to testing services, leading to better health outcomes.

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

Free and charitable clinics, which serve as a vital safety net in neighborhoods all across America, sometimes rely on donations and require assistance to deliver patients' basic medical needs. Telehealth is crucial for free clinic patients because it gives them the flexibility to see their doctor without missing work and losing money.

Industry Prospects

Per a report by Precedence Research, the global diagnostic testing market size was valued at $165.58 billion in 2021 and is projected to surpass around $348.75 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 8.63%.

Increased prevalence of chronic disease, an increase in IVD tests worldwide, adequate reimbursement policies, an improvement in diagnosis-seeking rates worldwide, and an expansion of molecular diagnostics are all contributing to the growth of the diagnostic tests market.

Progress Within Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics’ highly specialized Diagnostics services include molecular genomics and oncology tests, such as germline testing to assess prenatal and hereditary genetic risks and somatic testing for tumor sequencing. Neurology, women's reproductive health and cardiometabolic health are other key areas of this segment.

The QuestAD-Detect Alzheimer's blood test adds to Neurology’s growth trends, fortifying the company’s position in the rapidly evolving Alzheimer’s landscape. AD-Detect portfolio enables the early assessment of Alzheimer's risk and the monitoring of the progression.  The test, currently available to physicians across the United States, equally holds the potential to gather strong customer demand.

In addition, Quest Diagnostics continues to hold growth momentum in the cardiometabolic, endocrinology, infectious disease and carrier and prenatal genetic screening services.

Price Performance

In the past year, DGX’s shares have gained 3.1% against the industry’s fall of 8.8%.

Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Quest Diagnostics currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Haemonetics (HAE - Free Report) , Quanterix (QTRX - Free Report) and SiBone (SIBN - Free Report) . You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Haemonetics’ stock has risen 19.9% in the past year. Earnings estimates for Haemonetics have increased from $3.56 to $3.74 in 2023 and $3.96 to $4.07 in 2024 in the past 30 days. It currently carries Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

HAE’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 19.39%. In the last reported quarter, it posted an earnings surprise of 38.16%

Estimates for Quanterix’s 2023 loss per share have narrowed from $1.19 to 97 cents in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have increased 167.5% in the past year against the industry’s decline of 1.7%. It currently carries Zacks Rank #2.

QTRX’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 30.39%. In the last reported quarter, it posted an earnings surprise of 55.56%.

Estimates for SiBone’s2023 loss have narrowed from $1.42 to $1.27 per share in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have increased 31% in the past year compared with the industry’s rise of 1.9%. It currently carries Zacks Rank #2.

SIBN’s earnings beat estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 20.37%. In the last reported quarter, SiBone delivered an earnings surprise of 26.83%.

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