CAI vs DGX vs NTRA Stock Comparison

Caris Life Sciences, Quest Diagnostics and Natera Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DGX Quest Diagnostics Inc
$241.90 +3.8% 1M +32.0% 1Y
Market cap
$26.69B
P/E
23.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
3 wins
NTRA Natera, Inc.
$403.95 +3.4% 1M +107.2% 1Y
Market cap
$58.02B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.71B
Div. yield
–
Diagnostic Labs Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Caris Life Sciences leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Caris Life Sciences 5, Natera 3, Quest Diagnostics 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAIDGXNTRALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.19B $26.69B $58.02B NTRA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 87.4x 23.6x -301.5x DGX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 290.9x 22.3x — DGX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +85.4% +9.1% +37.8% CAI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.6% 9.5% -7.1% CAI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.6% 9.9% -11.7% CAI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.2x 2.1x 4.5x CAI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +1.1% +32.0% +107.2% NTRA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +10.6%/yr +28.6%/yr NTRA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 69.5% 23.8% 47.9% DGX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 64/100 50/100 CAI

Percentile Scorecard

CAIDGXNTRA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisCAIDGXNTRA
Valuation 23 #72 of 93 72 #27 of 93 16 #78 of 93
Growth 99 #2 of 88 40 #53 of 88 71 #26 of 88
Profitability 87 #12 of 87 77 #21 of 87 33 #59 of 87
Financial Health 82 #19 of 100 56 #45 of 100 86 #15 of 100
Shareholder Returns 53 #27 of 56 76 #14 of 56 44 #32 of 56
Overall 69 64 50
  • CAI ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • DGX ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers
  • NTRA ranked among 103 companies in Healthcare Providers

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodCAIDGXNTRASPY
1 month +1.1%+3.8%+3.4% -1.0%
3 months +106.2%+6.1%+54.2% +2.9%
6 months +58.4%+23.2%+98.3% +6.4%
Year to date +18.6%+39.4%+76.3% +11.4%
1 year +1.1%+32.0%+107.2% +13.1%
3 years —+95.7%+890.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year —+25.1%+114.9% +21.5%
5 years —+65.1%+251.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year —+10.6%+28.6% +10.9%
10 years —+189.0%+3,943.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+11.2%+44.8% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCAIDGXNTRASPY
Volatility, 1Y 69.5%23.8%47.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.9%18.8%44.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.34-0.101.21 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.021.352.24 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -63.0%-30.3%-76.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.1%-2.3%-5.1% -2.5%
52-week high $32.35$247.47$425.64 $779.14
52-week low $14.55$173.49$182.65 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleCAIDGXNTRA
P/E now vs peer median 86.1xmedian 25.3x 23.6xmedian 25.3x -300.8xmedian 25.3x
P/S now vs peer median 9.1xmedian 1.6x 2.2xmedian 1.6x 21.4xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 48.0xmedian 14.6x 13.6xmedian 14.6x -254.2xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 73.0xmedian 22.7x 19.4xmedian 22.7x 689.0xmedian 22.7x
P/B now vs peer median 15.3xmedian 3.3x 3.3xmedian 3.3x 31.8xmedian 3.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.66 1.61median 0.66 -9.07median 0.66

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsCAIDGXNTRA
Revenue $989.61M $11.84B $2.71B
Gross profit $689.36M $3.92B $1.71B
Operating income $153.26M $1.72B -$289.67M
Net income $105.14M $1.18B -$192.36M
Free cash flow $123.96M $1.38B $84.20M
R&D $117.14M – $787.38M
EPS (diluted) $0.37 $10.08 $-1.34
Cash & equivalents $690.92M $797.00M $1.10B
Total debt $393.15M $5.55B $321.26M
Shares (diluted) 282.89M 112.00M 143.28M
Enterprise value $6.01B $24.45B $53.70B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricCAIDGXNTRA
P/E 86.1x 23.6x -300.8x
P/FCF 73.0x 19.4x 689.0x
P/Operating cash flow 53.6x 13.6x 254.2x
P/S 9.1x 2.2x 21.4x
P/B 15.3x 3.3x 31.8x
P/Tangible book 15.3x 4.2x 39.7x
EV/EBITDA 48.0x 13.6x -254.2x
EV/EBIT 56.4x 18.2x -196.7x
EV/Revenue 8.7x 2.6x 21.1x
EV/FCF 69.7x 22.8x 676.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 51.3x 16.1x 249.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 1.61 -9.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAIDGXNTRA
Revenue growth (1Y) 85.4% 9.1% 37.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 8.4% 42.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 141.2% 8.5% 43.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 8.4% 68.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 188.2% 12.5% 1.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 15.1% 17.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 137.7% 15.0% 24.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 12.9% 27.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 103.0% 17.6% 27.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 14.6% 33.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 227.3% 3.5% 22.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 21.8% 38.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 188.2% -1.3% -26.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 32.1% 30.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAIDGXNTRA
Gross margin 69.7% 33.1% 63.2%
EBITDA margin 18.2% 19.5% -8.3%
Operating margin 15.5% 14.6% -10.7%
Pretax margin 10.6% 12.6% -9.3%
Net margin 10.6% 9.5% -7.1%
FCF margin 12.5% 11.6% 3.1%
Operating cash flow margin 17.0% 16.5% 8.4%
Return on equity 17.7% 15.0% -10.7%
Return on assets 8.8% 6.9% -7.3%
Return on invested capital 15.6% 9.9% -11.7%
Return on capital employed 15.3% 11.3% -13.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.7x -1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 6.6% 0.7% 14.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAIDGXNTRA
Debt / assets 32.0% 32.2% 3.0%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.7x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.2x 2.1x 4.5x
Debt / FCF 3.2x 4.0x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 51.9% 53.8% 31.5%
Equity / assets 48.1% 46.2% 68.5%
Interest coverage 3.3x 6.5x -75.9x
Current ratio 5.5x 1.7x 3.0x
Quick ratio 4.8x 1.4x 2.8x
Cash ratio 4.1x 0.4x 2.0x
Altman Z-score 7.66 3.69 41.25

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAIDGXNTRA
Dividend yield – 1.4% –
Net buyback yield 0.1% 1.2% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.1% 2.6% -0.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 31.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 26.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 6.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.1% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusCAIDGXNTRA
Forward P/E 290.9xFY2026 22.3xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $0.11FY2026 $10.86FY2026 $-1.47FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +10.3%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +236.4% +8.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.06BFY2026 $11.19BFY2026 $3.07BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +30.1%FY2026 +1.3%FY2026 +32.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +21.6% +7.8% +6.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAIDGXNTRA
Held by institutions 52.0% 94.4% 95.5%
Institutions holding 245 1,096 847
Change in shares held, QoQ -6.3% +2.7% +2.7%
Institutions buying 175 549 513
Institutions selling 47 341 240
Buyers to sellers 3.72 1.61 2.14

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

CAIDGXNTRA
CAI 1.00 0.22 0.55
DGX 0.22 1.00 0.19
NTRA 0.55 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAI, DGX and NTRA?

Natera (NTRA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) $9.19B, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $26.69B, Natera (NTRA) $58.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAI, DGX and NTRA?

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 87.4x, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 23.6x, Natera (NTRA) -301.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is cheapest (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 290.9x, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 22.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Caris Life Sciences (CAI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) +85.4%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +9.1%, Natera (NTRA) +37.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Caris Life Sciences (CAI) has the highest net margin (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 10.6%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.5%, Natera (NTRA) -7.1%). On return on invested capital, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) leads (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 15.6%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 9.9%, Natera (NTRA) -11.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Natera (NTRA) returned the most: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) +1.1%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +32.0%, Natera (NTRA) +107.2%. Over five years, Natera (NTRA) compounded fastest (Quest Diagnostics (DGX) +10.6%/yr, Natera (NTRA) +28.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 0.00%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 0.01%, Natera (NTRA) 0.00%. Caris Life Sciences (CAI) and Natera (NTRA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) has been the steadiest (Caris Life Sciences (CAI) 69.5%, Quest Diagnostics (DGX) 23.8%, Natera (NTRA) 47.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAI, DGX and NTRA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Caris Life Sciences (CAI) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.