By Amruta Khandekar and Mrinalika Roy
    Oct 26 (Reuters) - Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc's
third-quarter profit is likely to get a boost from a rebound in
COVID-19 testing due to the highly contagious Delta variant and
sustained demand for vaccines against the coronavirus, Wall
Street analysts said.
    In July, when cases eased in the United States, the company
cut its annual sales forecast for COVID-19 tests by $900
million. But the demand has again picked up pace in recent
months amid a surge in Delta-led infections.
    The world's largest maker of scientific instruments, which
also supplies raw materials for COVID-19 vaccines and therapies,
may see some benefit from the United States authorizing booster
doses for some age-groups. 
    However, Thermo Fisher is unlikely to lift its testing
forecast, according to Atlantic Equities analyst James
Mainwaring, as it shifts its focus to its core business of
making scientific instruments used in pharmaceutical and
academic research.
    The business took a hit last year as the pandemic disrupted
research activities, but showed a strong recovery in 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 raised its
2021 profit forecast due to the recent uptick in testing demand.
However, Quest Diagnostics warned of a slowdown in
demand through the rest of the year as infections decline.

    
    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 STREET 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 ENDING  EPS ESTIMATE   ACTUAL EPS($)  BEAT, MET,
                 ($)                           MISSED
 July. 3 2021    $5.44          $5.60          BEAT
 April. 3 2021   $6.65          $7.21          BEAT
 Dec. 31 2020    $6.56          $7.09          BEAT
 Sept. 26 2020   $4.31          $5.63          BEAT
 June. 27 2020   $3.42          $3.89          BEAT
 March. 28 2020  $2.79          $2.94          BEAT
 
    
 (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru;
Editing by Arun Koyyur)