Cowen analyst Doug Schenkel said Danaher finished 2017 with solid momentum, which fortified his confidence in the outlook for core revenue growth acceleration. The analyst sees multiple sources of top and bottom line upside potential relative to guidance and views the fundamental downside risk as limited. Schenkel reiterated his Outperform rating and raised his price target to $110 from $100 on Danaher shares.

Unusual total active option classes on open include: Steel Dynamics (STLD), Gildan Activewear (GIL), Danaher (DHR), Altimeter Growth (GRAB), Childrens Place (PLCE), ASML (ASML), US Bancorp (USB), iShares Barclays 7 to 10 Year Treasury Bond Fund (IEF), AMC Entertainment (AMC), and Abbott (ABT).

HSBC analyst Rajesh Kumar upgraded Danaher to Buy from Hold with a price target of $280, up from $250. HSBC's supply chain analysis suggests the de-stocking effects as well as order books might be on a recovery path for the life sciences tools sector, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm also believes the "geopolitical divide" of biotech funding around the U.S. Biosecure Act might result in a better pricing environment for outsourcers, potentially supporting incremental margins and multiples. It upgrades Danaher as a "quality proxy for the Biotech funding recovery."