Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $620.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $655.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Thermo Fisher Scientific presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.05.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:TMO opened at $545.71 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $530.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $568.39. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 12-month low of $493.30 and a 12-month high of $627.88. The firm has a market cap of $208.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.28 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $10.63 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.69 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, November 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.16, for a total transaction of $1,120,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,134,197.76. This represents a 13.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,175,513.68. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,150 shares of company stock valued at $25,954,465. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

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

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.