We recently published a list of the 10 Best Strong Buy Stocks To Buy Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) stands against the other best strong buy stocks to buy right now.
Fears of a slowing economy have hit stocks recently, along with concerns that Trump’s tariffs will raise prices for consumers and lead to more inflation. These trends pose questions about whether the market broadening, which some experts have predicted, can really happen. On February 28, Sara Naison-Tarajano, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth global head of capital markets, appeared on CNBC’s ‘Closing Bell’ to discuss her growth outlook. She believed that the broadening of the market will take place, and the market is already seeing it. Considering the broadening versus the Mag 7, this year’s outperformance is pretty dramatic. If we look at what the last two years have been like combined, the returns of the Mag 7 were over 200%, while those of the rest of the market were only 31%. Therefore, the market is definitely seeing the trend materialize, and Tarajano believes it is going to continue.
She said the market is currently all about tariffs, growth, consumers, wavering, and several other factors. Among all, it is definitely about uncertainty, which in turn affects the markets and the consumers. We are seeing policy uncertainty around tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty around the Middle East and Ukraine, and some degree of regulatory uncertainty in terms of not knowing what the path will be in the future for this administration in the back half of the year. This uncertainty is coupled with the fact that we are coming off two incredible years of equity market returns. In addition, the back half of February tends to be historically weak anyway. All of these trends are coming together to create some market volatility, and it is to be expected.
READ ALSO: 11 Best Pharma Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds and 10 Cheap Gold Stocks to Invest In Right Now.
Could H2 Be Better in 2025?
Tarajano further said that she was and is still thinking that the first half of the year could be a bit dicey and the second half, which may see tax cuts and the impacts of deregulation, would see more deals done and more IPOs, resulting in a smoother H2. However, she said she reserved the right to revise her views based on how the policies come out. Shedding further light on the situation, she opined that the tariffs are a significant part of the base case and will be an essential part of what happens to inflation, which in turn has a broader impact on the economy. Talking about the base case, she said we will see a 4% increase in the effective tariff rate, which only has a 40 basis point impact on core PCE, a 20 basis point impact on GDP, and more. If the base case persists, we can make it through this first half.
There haven’t been many opportunities if you haven’t been long in the stock market to get involved with what the market has done over the last two years. Therefore, a bit of a clearing out is necessary, and the hope, if we can stay on track, is that the second half will be better.
From a strategic asset allocation perspective, she said that she still favors overweight US. The logic behind it is her firm’s GDP expectations, close to 2.5%, and earnings growth. There is no question that there’s been some tactical opportunity overseas, with Europe and China expected to perform better. While it is cheap, it is so for a reason, as the GDP expectations in Europe are 70 basis points. While these trends and expectations are interesting from a tactical trade perspective, it is essential to be thoughtful about international asset allocations when taking a strategic asset allocation perspective.
Our Methodology
We used Finviz and Tipranks to make a list of 35 strong buy stocks. We then selected the top 10 stocks with the highest analyst upside potential as of March 12, 2025. We also added the number of hedge fund holders for each stock as of Q4 2024. We sourced the hedge fund sentiment data from Insider Monkey’s database. The list is sorted in ascending order of analyst upside potential.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A workstation in a research lab stocked with laboratory products and services.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)
Analyst Upside: 30.10%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 100
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) provides analytical instruments, reagents, equipment, software, and other services for analysis, research, diagnostics, and discovery. It operates through the Analytical Instruments, Life Sciences Solutions, Laboratory Products and Services, and Specialty Diagnostics segments.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) holds a competitive market position due to its leadership in life sciences, long-term customer relationships, and high switching expenses. Its consumables and equipment are especially useful in drug development. The company expects to continue its consistent growth, and management forecasts high-single-digit revenue growth in the coming years.
In addition, the company is on a solid growth trajectory and reported $11.4 billion in revenue in fiscal Q4 2024, reflecting a 5% year-over-year growth. Its strong cash position further bolsters its standing, as it generated over $7.3 billion in free cash flow in fiscal 2024. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) also has a strong dividend yield, with seven consecutive years of growth. It outperformed the sector median of two years by 250%, reflecting its ability to return value to its shareholders.
Analysts are bullish on the stock due to its recent strategic acquisition of SOLV’s Purification and Filtration business, valued at $4.1 billion. The acquisition is anticipated to boost Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s (NYSE:TMO) standing in the bioprocessing sector, especially in filtration, aligning with its long-term growth strategy.
Overall, TMO ranks 10th on our list of the best strong buy stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of TMO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TMO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.