The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $465.00 to $515.00 in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 20.96% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on WAT. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC increased their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group upgraded Waters from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $375.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.60.

Waters Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $425.78 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $401.28 and a 200-day moving average of $359.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters has a 12-month low of $282.77 and a 12-month high of $433.09. The company has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waters will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,182,191,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,382,008 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,643,428,000 after acquiring an additional 19,998 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $623,921,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Waters by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $488,028,000 after acquiring an additional 348,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) develops and manufactures analytical workflow technologies used to measure, characterize and manage chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, industrial organizations, academic institutions and government laboratories.

The company’s portfolio includes liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis instruments, along with chromatography columns, consumables, laboratory software and services.