Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $400.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $370.00 to $400.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WAT. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $418.10.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $406.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average is $373.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $345.56. Waters has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 anticipate that Waters will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Waters by 2.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Waters by 3.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $73,733,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 16.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at $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.