HSBC Initiates Coverage on Waters (NYSE:WAT)

HSBC started coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. HSBC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.61.

Waters Stock Down 1.4%

WAT stock opened at $384.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.35, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.16. Waters has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $390.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $342.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $799.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $780.05 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 36.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Waters has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.050-13.150 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,295,612,000 after purchasing an additional 246,128 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after buying an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.6% in the third quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,185,898,000 after buying an additional 347,091 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 44.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $806,397,000 after buying an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Waters by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $934,100,000 after buying an additional 37,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.