Waters (NYSE:WAT) Research Coverage Started at Barclays

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $400.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $460.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.68.

Waters Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE:WAT opened at $319.88 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $382.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $347.37. The stock has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 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 has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 36.45%. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business 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. Equities analysts predict that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waters by 3.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,295,612,000 after acquiring an additional 246,128 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP raised its holdings in Waters by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,185,898,000 after purchasing an additional 347,091 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Waters by 44.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $806,397,000 after purchasing an additional 825,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Waters by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $934,100,000 after purchasing an additional 37,763 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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

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.