Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $400.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Bank of America from $370.00 to $400.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 7.78% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on WAT. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.71.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock traded down $5.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $371.11. 1,529,432 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,186,656. The stock has a market cap of $36.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.49, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.21. Waters has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $414.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $325.28 and its 200-day moving average is $350.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 14.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Waters by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co boosted its position in Waters by 2.3% during the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.