Waters (NYSE:WAT) Coverage Initiated at HSBC

HSBC started coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research report issued to clients and 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 suggests a potential upside of 17.57% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on WAT. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.61.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $391.24 on Tuesday. Waters has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $423.56. The company has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $390.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $342.14. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.19. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%.The business had revenue of $799.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $780.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. Waters’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.050-13.150 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,222 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,474 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Waters by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 16,777 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,372,000 after purchasing an additional 3,994 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth about $287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.