Leerink Partnrs Issues Negative Estimate for Waters Earnings

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs decreased their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Waters in a report issued on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs analyst P. Souda now expects that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $2.92 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.95. The consensus estimate for Waters’ current full-year earnings is $12.86 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Waters’ FY2025 earnings at $12.89 EPS.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $655.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WAT. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.19.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $343.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $349.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $369.86. The company has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 415,069 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $152,982,000 after buying an additional 16,542 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at about $5,769,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,272,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,680,334,000 after acquiring an additional 173,584 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter worth about $111,000. Finally, Argent Trust Co increased its position in Waters by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waters

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.