Waters (NYSE:WAT) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.60.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $368.82 on Monday. 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 has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $362.09 and a 200-day moving average of $346.27. The stock has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.86, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The firm’s 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after buying an additional 656,436 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 509.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $254,906,000 after buying an additional 561,047 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Waters by 1,611.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,705,000 after buying an additional 547,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 2,281.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $204,619,000 after buying an additional 516,094 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.