Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Given New $680.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $660.00 to $680.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 13.00% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on TMO. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $680.00 to $665.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $632.00 to $622.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank began coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bernstein Bank lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $565.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $651.38.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of TMO traded down $4.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $601.78. The company had a trading volume of 342,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,018,526. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.73, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $539.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $570.59. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 17.49%. On average, analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, November 15th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.12, for a total transaction of $5,581,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,608 shares in the company, valued at $18,757,296.96. This trade represents a 22.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,859,540. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the third quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.