In a note to investors published Friday afternoon, Janney Capital analyst Paul Knight said he was surprised that Thermo Fisher (TMO) said at its analyst day that it intends to spend at least 70% of deployed capital, or $12B over four years, on M&A, noting he expected more buybacks. Knight said Agilent (A) is often mentioned as a Thermo target, but he does not see that deal happening given the antitrust hurdles. Knight said Thermo is likely to acquire in the biological production space, where there are limited candidates, and noted that Repligen (RGEN) "possesses a near monopoly" in Protein A ligands. There are also "easy adds" in biological reagents, Knight tells investors, noting that Bio-Techne (TECH) is one of the two leading reagent companies for research proteins and antibodies. The firm has a Buy rating on Thermo Fisher shares.

Deutsche Bank raised the firm's price target on Thermo Fisher to $610 from $600 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares post the Q1 report. The analyst says a solid operational performance drove a strong start to 2024.

Barclays analyst Luke Sergott raised the firm's price target on Thermo Fisher to $615 from $590 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The company reported a beat across the board, says the analyst, who sees the business stabilizing.

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