Waters (NYSE:WAT) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $381.29, but opened at $332.29. Waters shares last traded at $336.9170, with a volume of 363,895 shares.

More Waters News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waters completed the combination with BD’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business, adding scale and diagnostics capabilities that management says will expand addressable markets and recurring revenue opportunities. Waters Completes Combination with BD’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued FY‑2026 targets of roughly $6.4B–$6.46B in revenue and a 28.1% margin goal driven by BD integration — guidance that signals higher scale and margin upside if synergies materialize. Waters projects $6.4B–$6.46B revenue for 2026 while targeting 28.1% margin through BD integration
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results beat modestly: non‑GAAP EPS $4.53 vs. $4.50 consensus and revenue $932M (at the high end of guidance)—growth across pharma, industrial and chemistry end markets, with recurring revenue up. These results support the company’s underlying growth story but weren’t enough to offset forward guidance concerns. Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: Management set Q1‑2026 EPS guidance of $2.25–$2.35, below the ~$2.52 Street consensus, and reiterated a cautious near-term outlook—this guidance miss is the main driver of the stock’s selloff today. Waters forecasts first-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates, shares slide
• Negative Sentiment: An analyst downgrade to Hold increased pressure on the shares, highlighting increased near-term execution risk and valuation concerns as the company absorbs BD’s business. Waters (NYSE:WAT) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $399.12.

Waters Trading Down 14.1%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $387.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%.The company had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.10 EPS. Waters’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at $175,320,000. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 41.9% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 5.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,070 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $44,004,000 after purchasing an additional 5,980 shares in the last quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 46.4% during the third quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at $1,624,000. 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.