Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Weak Earnings

Waystar Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:WAY)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $21.13 and last traded at $24.31, with a volume of 12468627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.41.

The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $303.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $294.72 million. Waystar had a return on equity of 6.83% and a net margin of 10.69%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. Waystar has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.590-1.680 EPS.

More Waystar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waystar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue and full‑year growth beat expectations — Q4 revenue was ~$304M, up ~24% year‑over‑year, and FY‑2025 revenue was $1.099B (up ~17%), signaling strong top‑line momentum that investors rewarded. PR Newswire: Waystar Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued 2026 guidance that implies ~17% revenue growth and EPS guidance of $1.59–$1.68, which matched or slightly beat investor hopes and supported the upbeat market reaction. Investing.com: Waystar shares rise as guidance impresses
• Positive Sentiment: Company is highlighting AI‑driven automation and integration as growth levers (and received AI recognition), which investors view as a durable driver of client ROI and future revenue expansion. PR Newswire: Waystar Recognized as Inc. Best in Business for AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely remain constructive: Needham reiterated a Buy rating but cut its price target from $46 to $33 — a signal of valuation recalibration even as the analyst still sees upside. TipRanks: Needham reiterates Buy with $33 PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Company provided extensive investor materials and call/transcript coverage — useful for digging into margin drivers and client metrics; transcripts and slide deck are available for deeper review. Yahoo Finance: Q4 Earnings Call Summary
• Negative Sentiment: EPS missed consensus by $0.03 (reported $0.36 vs. $0.39 expected), which tempers the headline and could be cited by short‑term traders as a reason for caution. Zacks: Q4 earnings lag estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed a large jump in put buying (several thousand contracts), indicating some market participants are hedging or taking downside bets — a potential warning about near‑term volatility.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WAY. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Waystar in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Waystar from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Waystar in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $41.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $44.00 price target on Waystar in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Waystar in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waystar presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.31.

Insider Transactions at Waystar

In other news, CMO Melissa F. (Missy) Miller sold 3,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total transaction of $125,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 193,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,150,657. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric L. (Ric) Sinclair III sold 40,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.08, for a total value of $1,209,968.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 474,826 shares in the company, valued at $14,282,766.08. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,650 shares of company stock valued at $2,258,535. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waystar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAY. Guggenheim Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waystar during the fourth quarter worth about $712,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waystar by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 52,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 13,799 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waystar by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 64,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 7,253 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Waystar by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Finally, Advent International L.P. purchased a new position in Waystar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $362,212,000.

Waystar Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.54 and a 200-day moving average of $34.20. The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 3.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.75.

Waystar Company Profile

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) is a leading provider of cloud-based revenue cycle management and payment solutions for healthcare organizations. The company’s unified platform streamlines the entire financial continuum of patient care, from eligibility verification and claim submission to payment reconciliation and patient billing. By automating key processes and improving claim accuracy, Waystar helps providers reduce administrative overhead, accelerate cash flow and enhance overall revenue performance.

At the core of Waystar’s offering is a SaaS-based architecture that integrates seamlessly with existing electronic health record (EHR) systems and payer networks.