Danaher is finally turning the corner. CNBC's Jim Cramer sees it. Wall Street does it too. Life sciences stocks are “ready to come out to play” after years of “nightmare” performance, Cramer said during Friday's December monthly meeting for Investment Club members. Danaher, which makes tools and technologies used by pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, has faced a difficult few years post-Covid. The company's business also came under pressure from China's policy changes aimed at mitigating healthcare costs in the world's second-largest economy. But that is changing. Wells Fargo analysts are the latest to acknowledge Danaher's turnaround: They raised their price target to $240 per share from $230, implying a 6% increase from Friday's $226 close. Wells Fargo maintained its equal weight rating equivalent to retention. By 2026, analysts forecast a modest acceleration of organic growth in the life sciences tools industry due to improving biopharmaceutical spending. They also observed a stabilization of academic and government demand, particularly in the United States. Bank of America analysts also raised Danaher's price target from $250 to $265. They said “industry headwinds are expected to dissipate and markets to normalize after a myriad of persistent challenges.” Last week, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the life sciences tools group, initiating Dahaner with a buy rating and a $265 price target. Analysts forecast organic revenue growth of 9.2% in 2026, compared to the consensus expectation of around 6.1%. Two weeks ago, Morgan Stanley listed Danaher with a buy rating and named it a top pick. Earlier this month, Cramer used Agilent Technologies to illustrate the life sciences resurgence. On Friday, Cramer said he had made no secret of his disappointment in Danaher in the past, which was still modestly down by 2025, during a year in which the S&P 500 had gained about 16%. However, there's no denying Danaher stock's strong recovery from its late September lows. The stock gained nearly 25% during that stretch. “After spending some time in the desert of the $180 level, I think a lot of people are happy to come out alive,” Cramer said. “That's wrong.” With shares now trading at $220, Cramer told Club members on Friday that it's actually “a good time to buy some Danaher, and an even better time if it goes down.” Danaher was one of seven out-of-favor stocks that Cramer identified as buys during the December Club meeting.
