Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on TMO. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $685.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $615.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $583.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $633.68.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE TMO opened at $520.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of $195.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $574.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $547.46. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a one year low of $385.46 and a one year high of $643.99.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The medical research company reported $6.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.12. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.05% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 6th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 2.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In related news, COO Michel Lagarde sold 22,046 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $563.56, for a total transaction of $12,424,243.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 84,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,404,976.52. This represents a 20.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.20, for a total transaction of $216,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,230,982.40. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 98,271 shares of company stock worth $56,920,935. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 123,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $50,256,000 after acquiring an additional 11,817 shares during the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 8.4% during the second quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 14,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,393,000. Weaver Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $506,000. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,305 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,513,000 after buying an additional 3,683 shares during the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, software, and services that support research, clinical, and industrial laboratories. The company supplies analytical instruments and laboratory equipment, life sciences reagents and kits, specialty diagnostics, and a broad range of consumables used by researchers, clinicians, and manufacturers. Its offerings also include laboratory information management and data-analysis software, as well as service solutions such as instrument maintenance, validation, and logistics that help customers run complex workflows efficiently.

Thermo Fisher operates through multiple business areas that broadly cover life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services, including contract development and manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.