Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Stock Has Average Price Target of $443.79 According to Brokerages

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $457.50.

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $456.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Evercore raised their price target on Waters from $410.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Waters from $465.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $456.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $425.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $369.05. The firm has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. Waters has a 1 year low of $282.77 and a 1 year high of $465.36.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Waters will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at about $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,182,191,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Waters by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,382,008 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,643,428,000 after buying an additional 19,998 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $623,921,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $488,028,000 after acquiring an additional 348,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company’s product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.