Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Upgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein to Outperform Rating

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $630.00 price objective on the medical research company's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's target price points to a potential upside of 16.03% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $650.52.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock traded down $1.96 on Friday, reaching $542.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,919,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,985,240. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $530.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $568.07. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 1 year low of $493.30 and a 1 year high of $627.88. The firm has a market cap of $207.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $10.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. This trade represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. This represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,150 shares of company stock worth $25,954,465. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IFG Advisors LLC increased its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.3% during the third quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 532 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,921 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 334 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. 89.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, and bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.