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

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage currently has a $630.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price points to a potential upside of 15.60% from the stock’s previous close.

TMO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Stephens started coverage on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $650.52.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of TMO opened at $545.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $208.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $530.21 and its 200-day moving average is $568.07. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a fifty-two week low of $493.30 and a fifty-two week high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.25 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $10.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, November 15th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $554.29, for a total value of $5,542,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,175,513.68. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 represents a 13.57 % 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.23% of the company’s stock.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

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.