Waters (NYSE:WAT) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wolfe Research

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore raised Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.71.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $371.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $36.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $350.93. 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.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters will post 14.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its holdings in Waters by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after buying an additional 656,436 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Waters by 509.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $254,906,000 after buying an additional 561,047 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Waters by 1,611.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,705,000 after buying an additional 547,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 2,281.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,619,000 after buying an additional 516,094 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.