Wall Street Zen Upgrades Waters (NYSE:WAT) to “Buy”

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on Waters in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.35.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $414.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $387.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $348.60. Waters has a 52-week low of $282.77 and a 52-week high of $426.22. The company has a market cap of $40.73 billion, a PE ratio of 103.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. Waters’s revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new stake in Waters in the first quarter worth about $27,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its stake in shares of Waters by 121.2% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Retirement LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.