Amruta Shahdekar and Mrinalika Raj

(Reuters] – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE) is expected to see a rise in COVID-19 tests due to highly contagious Delta virus and continued demand for vaccines to combat the coronavirus. Wall Street analysts believe that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s third quarter profit could be boosted.

After the increase in cases in the United States, COVID-19 testing sales were cut by $900million. The demand has increased in recent months due to a rise in Delta-driven infections.

Some Americans may be able to provide booster doses for certain age-groups, which could prove beneficial for the largest manufacturer of scientific instruments in the world.

Atlantic Equities analyst James Mainwaring says that Thermo Fisher won’t be raising its testing forecast. The company is shifting its focus from its core business, making scientific instruments to aid in academic and pharmaceutical research.

Although the business suffered a setback last year due to the outbreak of the pandemic, it showed strong recovery during the second quarter.

THE CONTEXT

** Thermo Fisher’s COVID-19 response revenue, which consists of supply for vaccines and therapies as well as testing kits, helped cushion the hit to its mainstay business from COVID-19 curbs and beat profit expectations for the past few quarters.

** Demand for test kits from employers in the United States have surged in the past few months and has even resulted in a supply crunch as the U.S. government mandated big employers to inoculate their workers and test them every week.

** Last week, rival Abbott Laboratories Due to recent testing demand, (NYSE:), raised its 2021 profit outlook. Quest Diagnostics (NYSE) said that there will be a decrease in test demand over the course of 2019, as the number of infections falls.

THE FUNDAMENTALS

** Thermo Fisher is expected to report third-quarter revenue of $8.39 billion on Oct. 27, according to the mean estimate from 15 analysts, based on Refinitiv data

** Thermo Fisher reported overall second-quarter sales of $9.27 billion.

WALL ST. SENTIMENT

** The current average analyst rating on Thermo Fisher shares is “buy”, with eight analysts rating it “strong buy”, 12 “buy” and two “hold”

** Wall Street’s median 12-month price target is $670

** The company’s shares have risen about 30.5% so far this year

Quarter ENDINGEPS Estimate ACTUALEPS ($) BEAT, MEET

($) MISSED

July. July.

April. March.

Dec. 31, 2020 $6.56 $7.09 BOEAT

September 26, 2020, $4.31 $5.63 BEEAT

June. 26 2020 $2.42 $3.89 BEAT

March. March.