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Washington, D.C.-based Danaher Corporation (DHR) designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. With a market cap of $201.2 billion, Danaher operates through the Biotechnology, Diagnostics, and Life Sciences segments.
Shares of the diagnostics & research giant have struggled to keep pace with the broader market over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks, DHR gained 22.2% compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 27.8% returns. In 2024, DHR is up 17.2%, while SPX returned 17.8% on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, DHR has outperformed the S&P 500 Healthcare Sector SPDR’s (XLV) 15.7% returns over the past 52 weeks and 13.4% gains on a YTD basis.
Shares of Danaher rose 5.3% following the release of its Q2 earnings on Jul. 23. Although the company’s sales dipped 2.9% year over year to $5.7 billion, it reduced its sales cost, leading to a 3.3% growth in gross profit to $3.4 billion. Moreover, it surpassed Wall Street’s EPS estimates by 9.6% to $1.72, making investors optimistic. Danaher also raised its investment in R&D by 8.3% to $391 million, demonstrating its approach toward growth and innovation.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect Danaher’s EPS to grow marginally to $7.59. However, the company’s earnings surprise history is robust. It beat the consensus estimates in all of the last four quarters.
Among the 19 analysts covering the DHR stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on 12 “Strong Buy” ratings, two “Moderate Buys,” and five “Holds.”
This configuration is slightly more bullish than two months before, with 11 analysts advising a “Strong Buy.”
On Jul. 24, Baird analyst Catherine Schulte maintained an “Outperform” rating with a price target of $278.
DHR’s mean price target of $286.53 represents a premium of 5.7% from current price levels. The Street-high target of $310 indicates a potential upside of 14.3%.
On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
