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

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in 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 trading volume of 2,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TMO has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $675.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $605.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $667.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $658.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $175,677.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,582,009.17. The trade was a 1.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 111,192 shares in the company, valued at $58,960,669.92. The trade was a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock worth $11,231,699. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $42,409,000. Creative Planning grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 101,174 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,583,000 after buying an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 15.5% during the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 3,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,985,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 31.0% during the third quarter. Hengehold Capital Management LLC now owns 524 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 35.6% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 621 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $532.58. 1,517,070 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,047,114. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.66. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a 52-week low of $493.30 and a 52-week high of $627.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $548.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $569.90. The company has a market capitalization 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 posted 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, research analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.