Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Takes Position in Waystar Holding Corp. $WAY

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Waystar Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:WAY) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,518,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,497,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 1.32% of Waystar as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WAY. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Waystar by 35.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,289,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,030,000 after buying an additional 3,219,586 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Waystar by 3,883.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,268,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,601,000 after acquiring an additional 3,186,869 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Waystar by 152.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,489,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504,026 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waystar during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,577,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Waystar by 2,923.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 882,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,461,000 after purchasing an additional 853,239 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Waystar in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $41.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Waystar in a report on Monday, February 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital set a $33.00 price objective on Waystar in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $42.00 target price on Waystar in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Waystar from $47.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.19.

Waystar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WAY opened at $25.65 on Friday. Waystar Holding Corp. has a 12-month low of $21.13 and a 12-month high of $45.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.70. The firm has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $303.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $294.72 million. Waystar had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. Waystar has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.590-1.680 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waystar Holding Corp. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric L. (Ric) Sinclair III sold 40,225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.08, for a total transaction of $1,209,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 474,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,282,766.08. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Christopher L. Schremser sold 8,623 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.41, for a total transaction of $262,225.43. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 422,371 shares in the company, valued at $12,844,302.11. The trade was a 2.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,549 shares of company stock valued at $1,790,580. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Waystar 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.