Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $390.4444.

Several research firms recently issued reports on WAT. Evercore raised shares of Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Waters by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 231,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,512,000 after buying an additional 25,182 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,397,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 543.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,146,000 after buying an additional 31,459 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,295,612,000 after buying an additional 246,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,677,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $304.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $351.40. The company has a market cap of $29.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20. Waters has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.10 EPS. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

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.