Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Price

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $415.00 to $355.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WAT. Citigroup initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.68.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $319.88 on Wednesday. Waters has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $382.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $347.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. Waters had a return on equity of 36.45% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in shares of Waters by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Waters by 2.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Waters

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major analyst coverage initiated or upgraded: Barclays started coverage with an “overweight” and $400 PT, Guggenheim issued a “Buy”, Citigroup and Evercore ISI also initiated coverage — these moves add buy-side interest and longer-term upside potential. Analyst Coverage & Barclays PT
• Positive Sentiment: Completion of the combination with BD’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions businesses — strategic scale and portfolio expansion that could support future revenue growth and synergies. Waters Completes Combination with BD
• Neutral Sentiment: BD completed its spin-off/merger with Waters and took steps to pivot its own portfolio, raising proceeds reported around $4B — important corporate context but impact on near-term WAT earnings is uncertain. BD Merges Biosciences & Diagnostics With Waters
• Neutral Sentiment: Non-market personal news (Waters announces arrival of first child) — human-interest item unlikely to move the stock. Waters announces arrival of first child
• Negative Sentiment: Weak Q1 profit outlook and cautious management commentary after the Q4 call drove an immediate sell reaction; news coverage flags that the company forecasted a weak first-quarter profit, which is the main near-term catalyst for the decline. MarketWatch: Shares Fall After Low Profit Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Certain sell-side revisions and lower targets: Bank of America trimmed its PT to $350 and Wells Fargo cut its PT to $355 (now equal weight), reflecting more cautious near-term expectations from some brokers. Bank of America Lowers Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/flow pressure: the stock is trading below its 50-day moving average and volume is significantly above average — technical weakness that can exacerbate short-term downside. MSN: Stock Underperforms Peers

Waters Company Profile

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.