Goldman Sachs analyst Isaac Ro earlier today raised the Life Science Tools sector to Attractive from Neutral and upgraded Thermo Fisher (TMO) to Conviction Buy from Buy. The analyst sees "multiple reasons" to like the 2016 fundamentals in the Life Science Tools space, including accelerating biopharma research and development spending as well as academic funding, which Ro feels will outpace GDP growth. Along with Thermo Fisher, the analyst upgraded to Buy shares of Agilent (A) and FEI Company (FEIC). Thermo Fisher is the only stock placed on his firm's Conviction List. The analyst raised his price target for Thermo shares to $158 from $146. In addition to the upgrades, Ro downgraded PerkinElmer (PKI) to Sell from Neutral and Danaher (DHR) to Neutral from Buy. He also downgraded LabCorp (LH) to Neutral from Conviction Buy and upgraded Myriad Genetics (MYGN) to Neutral from Sell. Thermo Fisher is up 54c to $136.07 in midday trading.

Barclays lowered the firm's price target on Labcorp (LH) to $213 from $234 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The company's Q1 print was marked by a headline beat and "mild" guidance raise that missed the high bar set by Quest Diagnostics (DGX) earlier this week, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

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.

Consensus $14.82. The company said, "Labcorp is updating 2024 full year guidance to reflect its first quarter performance and full year outlook. The following guidance assumes foreign exchange rates effective as of March 31, 2024, for the remainder of the year. Enterprise level guidance includes the estimated impact from currently anticipated capital allocation, including acquisitions, share repurchases and dividends."

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.