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Fly News Breaks for March 19, 2018
UNH, LH, DGX
Mar 19, 2018 | 07:36 EDT
Canaccord analyst Mark Massaro raised his price target on Quest Diagnostics (DGX) to $115 from $113 following investor meetings with Shawn Bevec, Quest's Executive Director of IR. Massaro, who reiterated a Buy rating, views Quest as an underappreciated large cap "cash cow" well positioned to consolidate labs, particularly in the $48B hospital lab market, where he says it has a "competitive edge" over LabCorp (LH). Additionally, Massaro said the fate of the UnitedHealth (UNH) contract, an exclusive to LabCorp but is set to expire at the end of the year, remains a potential near-term positive catalyst for Quest, noting that Quest is in "active dialogue" with UnitedHealth executives at the highest levels" and at Optum. Though UnitedHealth could renew the deal with LabCorp, Massaro believes it is likely that the contract will open up to both LapCorp and Quest.