Analysts Set Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Price Target at $396.00

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $396.00.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Citigroup started coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Evercore upgraded Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $384.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $323.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $351.18. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 225.5% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $465,008,000 after buying an additional 1,074,449 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its position in Waters by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Waters by 509.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $254,906,000 after purchasing an additional 561,047 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Waters by 1,611.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,705,000 after purchasing an additional 547,109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.