Wall Street Zen Downgrades Waters (NYSE:WAT) to Hold

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Waters in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.60.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $368.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $362.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.20 billion, a PE ratio of 46.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The firm’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 2.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 2.3% in the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.