Jupiter Topco LLC Makes New Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,663,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $623,921,000. Jupiter Topco LLC owned approximately 1.69% of Waters as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 121.2% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $414.41 on Wednesday. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $282.77 and a 12-month high of $421.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $40.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $383.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $347.45.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $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, research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.35.

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.