What Happened To People Who Bought Quest Stock At A High?
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“Buy low and never buy at the top” is one of the oldest rules in investing. Quest Diagnostics (DGX) stock closed at a 52-week high on November 9, 2026. Under that rule, this is the wrong time to buy. The more useful question is what happened to investors who bought Quest at its earlier highs. Does that rule hold for Quest?
Why Quest Stock Is At A High
Quest stock rose 44% over the past year, before dividends, and part of that rise came from the business. Net income over the twelve months to September 2026 was 16.5% higher than a year earlier. The rest came from a higher price-to-earnings multiple.
That multiple, what investors pay for each dollar of profit, went from 20.4 a year ago to 25.2 now. So Quest is at a high for both reasons, and more of the rise came from the higher multiple. Quest sells diagnostic tests, and on its October 22 call management said its physician, hospital, and consumer channels all grew strongly in the third quarter. Management also expects consumer health to grow more than 30% in 2026.
What Happened After Quest Stock’s Earlier Highs?
Take a guess first: after how many of its earlier highs was Quest stock higher a year later? Since November 2016, Quest has set 10 earlier 52-week highs with a full year after them. Following seven of those peaks, the stock was higher a year later. Each of those highs is listed below, alongside the performance of the S&P 500 over the same year.
| 52-week high | Stock a year later | S&P 500, same year | Lowest point in that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2016 | +5.9% | +18.2% | -0.7% |
| May 2017 | -2.2% | +12.7% | -16.0% |
| Jun 2018 | -10.9% | +3.5% | -28.6% |
| Nov 2019 | +15.7% | +15.6% | -31.7% |
| May 2020 | +11.3% | +38.1% | -11.6% |
| Feb 2021 | +1.3% | +19.7% | -14.0% |
| Aug 2021 | -4.4% | -6.7% | -11.2% |
| Jul 2024 | +12.3% | +11.1% | -5.1% |
| Jan 2025 | +12.7% | +14.9% | -2.7% |
| Aug 2025 | +32.0% | +19.2% | -5.1% |
A 52-week high is a close above every close of the 252 trading sessions before it, counted no more than once every 126 trading sessions. A year later is the close 252 trading sessions after the high. Changes are measured from the close on the day of the high; 0.0% in the last column means the stock did not close below it. Split-adjusted closing prices, dividends excluded.
The middle result was a gain of 8.6% a year later. So after most of Quest’s highs, a buyer was ahead a year later. But Quest beat the S&P 500 in the year after only four of the 10 highs.
Is A High A Worse Time To Buy?
Hardly. Over the same years, buying Quest on any trading day produced a middle one-year result of 8.7%, compared with 8.6% after a high. The old rule has not held for this stock. A 52-week high has been about as good a day to buy as any other.
What Should A Buyer At A High Expect?
The worst result came after the June 2018 high. A year later, in June 2019, Quest stock was 10.9% lower. Two of those highs were also followed by a fall of 20% or more below the buying price at some point in the year. The rule is not foolish, but those cases were the exceptions for Quest.
If you buy Quest at a high, be ready for a dip. Typically, the stock closed 11.4% below the buying price at its lowest point in the year that followed.
Not Sure Quest Diagnostics Is Worth It At This Price?
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