Waters (NYSE:WAT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waters from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.37.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $377.35. The company had a trading volume of 502,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,968. Waters has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $358.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.91.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waters will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 2.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 3.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after purchasing an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $232,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.