Waters (NYSE:WAT) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.35.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $414.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $387.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.45. 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 firm has a market cap of $40.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.38, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. Waters has a 1-year low of $282.77 and a 1-year high of $426.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company’s revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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. Equities analysts forecast that Waters will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Waters by 3.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $73,733,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth approximately $232,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Waters

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.