Waters (NYSE:WAT) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $360.00 to $380.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Waters traded as high as $465.45 and last traded at $465.8490, with a volume of 293,172 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $455.98.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on WAT. Evercore lifted their price target on Waters from $410.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector outperform” rating and set a $465.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Waters from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Waters from $465.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $457.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 43.9% in the second quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Waters by 2.8% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 910 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Waters by 3.7% in the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co raised its stake in Waters by 2.3% during the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.35, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $425.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $369.05.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Waters

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company’s product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.