Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) Short Interest Up 14.2% in January

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,950,000 shares, a growth of 14.2% from the January 15th total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of TMO stock traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $532.58. 1,517,070 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $548.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $570.21. Thermo Fisher Scientific has a one year low of $493.30 and a one year high of $627.88.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The medical research company reported $6.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.94 by $0.16. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 17.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. Equities analysts forecast that Thermo Fisher Scientific will post 23.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TMO has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Thermo Fisher Scientific from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $767.00 to $718.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $647.00 to $678.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $658.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Thermo Fisher Scientific news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 9,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.59, for a total value of $5,753,421.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,296 shares in the company, valued at $15,984,264.64. The trade was a 26.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc N. Casper sold 10,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $530.26, for a total value of $5,302,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,960,669.92. This trade represents a 8.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,125 shares of company stock valued at $11,231,699. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Thermo Fisher Scientific

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TMO. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co bought a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.