Analysts Set Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) PT at $401.60

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $401.60.

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $357.29 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $362.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.08. The company has a market capitalization of $35.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $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. Analysts expect that Waters will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 2.9% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after purchasing an additional 6,976 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 16.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.