Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.590-1.680 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 1.600. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.3 billion-$1.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.3 billion.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Waystar in a report on Monday, March 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waystar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Waystar from $41.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Waystar from $46.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Waystar from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waystar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.38.

Waystar Trading Down 0.8%

WAY stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 851,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,613,059. The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $24.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Waystar has a 12 month low of $20.35 and a 12 month high of $42.55.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.03. Waystar had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 10.90%.The firm had revenue of $313.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $311.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waystar has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.590-1.680 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waystar will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Waystar News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Waystar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat consensus: Waystar reported $0.42 EPS and $313.9M revenue, beating estimates, with revenue up ~22% YoY and healthy margins — the core beat and top-line acceleration support the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing: Needham reaffirmed a “Buy” rating with a $33 price target, giving investors a favorable mid-term valuation anchor. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven growth narrative: Management highlighted AI/AltitudeAI tools on the call and media coverage suggests these products could expand Waystar’s data moat and margins — a potential long-term profit driver. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan trimmed its price target slightly (from $40 to $38) but kept an “Overweight” rating — still constructive but a modest reduction to upside expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full transparency: earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for investors who want detail on drivers, margins and cadence — useful for modeling and due diligence. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and summaries (Zacks, MarketBeat) reinforce the beat and provide metric-level context for investors updating models. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious near-term cadence: management signaled FY2026 revenue roughly in the $1.274B–$1.294B range and shifted Q2 sequential growth guidance to flat-to-1%, which could temper expectations for near-term acceleration. Read More.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waystar

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAY. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Waystar by 11.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,195 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waystar in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Waystar by 91.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 46,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 22,364 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waystar in the first quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Waystar by 13.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 747,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,918,000 after acquiring an additional 88,256 shares during the period.

About Waystar

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) is a leading provider of cloud-based revenue cycle management and payment solutions for healthcare organizations. The company’s unified platform streamlines the entire financial continuum of patient care, from eligibility verification and claim submission to payment reconciliation and patient billing. By automating key processes and improving claim accuracy, Waystar helps providers reduce administrative overhead, accelerate cash flow and enhance overall revenue performance.

At the core of Waystar’s offering is a SaaS-based architecture that integrates seamlessly with existing electronic health record (EHR) systems and payer networks.