Waters (NYSE:WAT) Rating Increased to Outperform at Evercore

Evercore upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. Evercore currently has $350.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Waters from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. William Blair began coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.44.

Waters Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:WAT opened at $304.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $29.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20. Waters has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $322.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $351.40.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $789,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,623 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after buying an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Company Profile

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.