BTIG Research Initiates Coverage on Waters (WAT)

Investment analysts at BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.73% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WAT. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 4th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, November 3rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $198.00 target price for the company. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Waters from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.73.

Waters (NYSE WAT) opened at $202.23 on Friday. Waters has a twelve month low of $134.69 and a twelve month high of $202.85. The firm has a market cap of $16,083.96, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 5.71, a current ratio of 6.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 24.34% and a return on equity of 23.61%. The business had revenue of $565.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $555.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. equities analysts predict that Waters will post 7.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, SVP David Terricciano sold 21,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.52, for a total value of $4,344,847.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,811,850.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joann A. Reed sold 1,386 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.07, for a total transaction of $268,981.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,159 shares of company stock valued at $18,412,172 in the last three months. 5.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pensionfund Sabic bought a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $1,546,000. Pensionfund DSM Netherlands bought a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $3,091,000. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC grew its position in Waters by 6.4% in the third quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 166,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,926,000 after purchasing an additional 10,015 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter valued at $398,000. Finally, Bares Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 0.6% in the third quarter. Bares Capital Management Inc. now owns 728,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,861,000 after acquiring an additional 4,663 shares during the last quarter. 92.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is an analytical instrument manufacturer. The Company operates through two segments: Waters and TA. It designs, manufactures, sells and services high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC and together with HPLC, referred to as LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products and post-warranty service plans.

Analyst Recommendations for Waters (NYSE:WAT)