Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Given New $678.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $647.00 to $678.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 12.71% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on TMO. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $630.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bernstein Bank boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $650.43.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Up 5.9 %

Shares of TMO stock opened at $601.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $539.66 and a 200-day moving average of $570.59. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The stock has a market cap of $230.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 14.48%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated 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 buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,000 shares of company stock worth $15,859,540. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Thermo Fisher Scientific

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 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.