Analysts Set Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) PT at $397.68

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $397.6842.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. HSBC assumed coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Waters by 225.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $465,008,000 after buying an additional 1,074,449 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Waters by 31.0% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Waters by 44.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after purchasing an additional 825,723 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waters during the second quarter worth about $266,384,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.3% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $333.41 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $374.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $348.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.41. Waters has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.