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Quest Diagnostics (DGX) to Boost Lab Services With New Buyout

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Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX - Free Report) recently acquired select assets of Steward Health Care System's outreach laboratory services business, which provided services to physicians and patients in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The transaction's financial specifics were kept under wraps.

The agreement gives patients and doctors more access to cutting-edge, excellent-quality diagnostic information services.

The latest development is likely to broaden Quest Diagnostics' laboratory services offering.

More on Agreement

Quest Diagnostics offers a comprehensive range of services to enable healthcare systems and hospitals to enhance the standard, creativity and insights of their diagnostic laboratory services, improve patient satisfaction and reduce expenses for more easily accessible and reasonably priced treatment.

Quest Diagnostics and Steward have a long-standing partnership. Per the terms, Quest Diagnostics provides expert lab management services and purchases specific outreach lab items.

DGX purchased a few assets from the laboratory company that supplies Hawthorn Medical Associates in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, contingent on the transfer of the laboratory license.

Strategic Efforts

The acquisition seeks to increase accessibility to cutting-edge, high-caliber and reasonably priced laboratory services. Physicians and patients who were previously served by outreach laboratories run by Steward Health Care System in various sections of Pennsylvania and Ohio will be able to receive testing services from Quest's full-service laboratory in Pittsburgh, PA.

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With this buyout, Quest Diagnostics is fulfilling its plan to support health systems' changing demands. These systems are seeking to entrust the company’s expertise with their vital laboratory services so they may concentrate on their primary duties of providing care. This acquisition broadens Quest Diagnostics' capacity to assist physicians and patients in Ohio and Pennsylvania and is consistent with its plan to grow through the acquisition of outreach laboratories.

Industry Prospects

Per a report by Grand View Research, the global clinical laboratory service market size was estimated at $217.53 billion in 2022 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 3.2% from 2023 to 2030. The industry is witnessing growth due to factors like the increasing burden of chronic diseases and the growing demand for early diagnostic tests.

Progress Within Laboratory Business

In October 2023, Quest Diagnostics inked a strategic lab services agreement with Neway. The agreement aims to accelerate dialysis laboratory testing and reduce the laboratory costs of dialysis programs for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

In March 2023, Quest Diagnostics acquired select assets of Northern Light Laboratory —  a large integrated healthcare system in Maine. Financial details of the deal were kept under wraps. Through this acquisition, Quest Diagnostics offers professional laboratory management services for nine of Northern Light Health's hospital laboratories and its cancer center laboratory at Northern Light Cancer Care in Brewer, Maine.

Price Performance

In the past year, DGX’s shares have dropped 5.3% against the industry’s rise of 10.4%.

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) , DaVita (DVA - Free Report) and HealthEquity (HQY - Free Report) . Haemonetics and HealthEquity each presently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), and DaVita sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Haemonetics’ stock has increased 8.7% in the past year. Earnings estimates for Haemonetics have remained constant at $3.89 in 2023 and at $4.15 in 2024 in the past 30 days.

HAE’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 16.1%. In the last reported quarter, it posted an earnings surprise of 5.3%.

Estimates for DaVita’s 2023 earnings per share have remained constant at $8.07 in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have increased 36.5% in the past year compared with the industry’s rise of 10%.

DVA’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 36.6%. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an average earnings surprise of 48.4%.

Estimates for HealthEquity’s 2023 earnings per share have increased from $2.03 to $2.15 in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have increased 12.1% in the past year against the industry’s 2.1% fall.

HQY’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.5%. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an average earnings surprise of 22.5%.

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