Analyst Sees Higher Earnings On Danaher Expansion

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Shares of Danaher Corp. rose Friday as an analyst said its earnings will likely increase with two acquisitions expanding the Craftsman hand tool manufacturer's medical technology and professional instrument business.

Barclays Capital analyst Robert T. Cornell said in a client note the acquisitions announced Wednesday are "incremental positives" for 2010. He raised his price target to $70 from $69.

He said he expects "meaningful earnings leverage" and increased backlog in the first half of 2010.

The Washington-based company, which makes equipment ranging from Craftsman tools to dental X-ray machines, said it will pay $1.1 billion, including debt, for Applied Biosystems/MDS Sciex, a mass spectrometry business, and a bioresearch and analytical instrumentation company owned by MDS Inc.

Mass spectrometry is used widely in medical research to determine what elements make up a molecule.

Shares rose $1.50, or 2.3 percent, to $65.65 in afternoon trading.