- Danaher Corporation (DHR +3.7%) has sustained its early gains following an upgrade to its Q1 2021 revenue guidance.
- The update highlights the company’s leadership in the global market for Covid-19 bioprocessing, noted Keybanc analyst Paul Knight with an outperform rating for the stock.
- The upgrade points to “industry color around the post-Covid-19 lab recovery,” Knight wrote with a price target at $280.00 per share for the stock implying ~19.2% upside to its previous close.
- Danaher peers, Hologic (HOLX +1.8%) and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO +1.4%) have also followed its gains to rise moderately in afternoon hours.
- Meanwhile, with a similar rating and a price target, Evercore ISI observes that the company’s base business has led to half of the revenue beat as implied by the upgrade.
- “The significant broad-based 1Q revenue beat fortifies our view that Danaher has one of the best and most durable portfolios addressing Covid-19,” wrote Cowen with an outperform rating on the stock.
- Noting that the company is well-positioned to sustain the upside in the upcoming quarters, the analyst Vijay Kumar expects the solid Q1 results to further increase Danaher’s M&A activity.
- Recently, the company announced the acquisition of Swift Biosciences, a far cry from its $21.4B acquisition of GE’s biopharma business in 2019.