Diamonds and Dogs

3/25/19

Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) is heating up. The world's largest maker of scientific instruments is up a percent not far from all-time highs after agreeing to acquire privately held, Brammer Bio for $1.7 billion cash deal. Brammer Bio is a leader in viral vector manufacturing for gene and cell therapies. As one analyst put it, gene therapy is considered to be "the next frontier" in drug development, and buying Brammer Bio gives Thermo Fisher a "foothold in the space."

A downgrade in the chip space. Texas Instruments (TXN) is down 3% following comments at Bernstein saying they are increasingly concerned that the chip-industry upturn may not happen this year. Micron (MU) is down 3% after jumping just as much last week following earnings and optimistic comments about a chip recovery. Since the second half of the year is still months away, it is probably too soon to know.