Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research cut Waystar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Waystar from $51.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on Waystar from $42.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners started coverage on Waystar in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on shares of Waystar in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waystar has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.19.

Waystar Stock Performance

Shares of WAY opened at $25.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 41.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. Waystar has a 12-month low of $21.13 and a 12-month high of $45.00.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $303.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $294.72 million. Waystar had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 10.20%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Waystar has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.590-1.680 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Waystar will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waystar

In related news, CTO Christopher L. Schremser sold 8,623 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.41, for a total value of $262,225.43. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 422,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,844,302.11. This represents a 2.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Melissa F. (Missy) Miller sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $125,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 193,261 shares in the company, valued at $7,150,657. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 61,949 shares of company stock valued at $1,916,380 over the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waystar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Waystar by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 2,195 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waystar during the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waystar by 91.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 22,364 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waystar during the first quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waystar by 13.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 747,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,918,000 after purchasing an additional 88,256 shares during the last quarter.

About Waystar

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) is a leading provider of cloud-based revenue cycle management and payment solutions for healthcare organizations. The company’s unified platform streamlines the entire financial continuum of patient care, from eligibility verification and claim submission to payment reconciliation and patient billing. By automating key processes and improving claim accuracy, Waystar helps providers reduce administrative overhead, accelerate cash flow and enhance overall revenue performance.

At the core of Waystar’s offering is a SaaS-based architecture that integrates seamlessly with existing electronic health record (EHR) systems and payer networks.