Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Thermo Fisher Scientific has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, while various other analysts have set differing price targets, indicating mixed assessments of the stock's outlook.
• Despite the downgrade, the company's stock showed a slight increase of 1.5% recently, with a current trading price of $461.34.
• Insider activity includes significant stock sales by CEO Marc N. Casper and EVP Gianluca Pettiti, suggesting a decrease in executives' holdings in the company amid fluctuating stock evaluations.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on TMO. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $665.00 to $620.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $610.00 price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $651.00 to $637.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $593.00.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:TMO traded up $7.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $485.29. 1,259,658 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,496,431. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a twelve month low of $385.46 and a twelve month high of $627.88. The firm has a market cap of $183.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.93. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $429.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.95.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.22 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $10.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.68 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 16.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.98, for a total transaction of $191,992.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,735,712.66. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.45, for a total transaction of $3,635,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $52,340,824.30. The trade was a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,400 shares of company stock worth $8,345,792. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Port Capital LLC increased its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 927 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 4,445 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,656 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,507,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.