Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $396.00.

Several research firms recently commented on WAT. HSBC began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Waters by 21.4% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 52,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,682,000 after purchasing an additional 9,293 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Waters by 145.4% in the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at about $9,206,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Waters by 5,156.0% in the first quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 298,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $88,999,000 after purchasing an additional 293,169 shares during the period. Finally, Union Heritage Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at about $247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 0.8%

WAT stock opened at $339.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $319.51 and its 200 day moving average is $351.18. Waters has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15.

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

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.