By Stephen Nakrosis

Shares of pharmaceutical-testing company PPD Inc. are trading higher Thursday, following news that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. agreed to acquire the company for $47.50 a share.

At 12:45 p.m. ET, shares of PPD had risen 6.73%, to $45.89. Volume at the time topped 42.4 million shares, above the stock's 65-day average volume of just more than one million shares.

Earlier in the session, the company's shares touched a 52-week high of $46.34.

At 12:46 p.m. ET, Thermo Fisher shares were trading 3.72% higher, at $495.85.

Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-15-21 1311ET