Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target to $355.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price objective decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $415.00 to $355.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Waters from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.68.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $323.91 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $380.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.52. Waters has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $175,320,000. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 41.9% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Waters by 5.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,070 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $44,004,000 after buying an additional 5,980 shares in the last quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in Waters by 46.4% in the third quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 2,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,624,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Waters

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat and upbeat guidance — Waters posted $4.53 EPS vs. $4.50 est. and revenue of $932.4M (up ~7% y/y); management set FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $14.30–$14.50 and Q1 guidance of $2.25–$2.35, citing strength in Pharma and Europe. This is the main fundamental catalyst for the stock rally. Waters Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: New/expanded analyst coverage — Barclays initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and $400 PT (significant upside vs. current levels), and firms including Guggenheim, Citigroup and Evercore also initiated or reiterated coverage, adding buying interest and liquidity. Barclays Overweight on WAT
• Positive Sentiment: Technicals suggest a potential rebound — commentary notes the stock was materially oversold over the past month, increasing the chance of a technical bounce as analysts raise estimates. This may have amplified short‑covering and buyer interest. Down 19.0% in 4 Weeks, Here’s Why Waters Looks Ripe for a Turnaround
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy/legislative mention unrelated to the company — A bill introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters on hydrofluoric acid in refineries is circulating; this concerns refineries, not Waters Corporation (analytical instruments), so it’s unlikely to affect WAT’s fundamentals. H.R. 7384 Bill Text
• Neutral Sentiment: Personal news about an unrelated individual with the surname Waters — irrelevant to company performance or stock. Personal announcement (unrelated)
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America cut its price target to $350 — a downward revision that could temper upside and indicates some analyst caution despite the beat; investors should weigh this alongside other bullish initiations. BofA Lowers WAT Price Target

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.