Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,950,000 shares, an increase of 14.2% from the January 15th total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TMO shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $658.00.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

TMO traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $532.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,517,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,114. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $548.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $570.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $203.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.77.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at $9,582,009.17. This trade represents a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.