Waters (NYSE:WAT) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $455.12 and last traded at $453.1090, with a volume of 71,563 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler raised Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Waters from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $375.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $443.79.

Waters Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $44.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $423.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $380.89.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $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. Analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAT. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth $28,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Caitlin John LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waters

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company’s product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.