Waystar Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:WAY) Short Interest Up 57.2% in February

Waystar Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:WAY) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 11,741,218 shares, an increase of 57.2% from the February 12th total of 7,466,952 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,149,354 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,149,354 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Waystar Stock Performance

Shares of WAY opened at $24.16 on Friday. Waystar has a one year low of $21.13 and a one year high of $42.55. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 39.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.97 and a 200-day moving average of $33.00.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $294.72 million. Waystar had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 10.20%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waystar will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waystar news, insider Eric L. (Ric) Sinclair III sold 40,225 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 474,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,282,766.08. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waystar by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,330,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,836,000 after buying an additional 41,062 shares in the last quarter. Advent International L.P. bought a new stake in Waystar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $362,212,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Waystar by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,282,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,993,000 after buying an additional 19,033 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waystar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,134,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,390,000 after buying an additional 159,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Waystar by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,415,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,514,000 after buying an additional 146,510 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WAY. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Waystar from $51.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Waystar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Waystar in a report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $41.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Waystar in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Waystar from $47.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waystar has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.06.

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.