Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Waystar Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:WAY) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $38.00. The stock had previously closed at $25.27, but opened at $23.73. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Waystar shares last traded at $22.01, with a volume of 668,647 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on WAY. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Waystar in a research note on Monday, March 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Waystar in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Evercore set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Waystar in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of Waystar in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waystar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.38.

Key Stories Impacting Waystar

Here are the key news stories impacting Waystar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations: EPS $0.42 vs. $0.39 est. and revenue (~$313.9M) topped consensus; revenue rose ~22% year‑over‑year — a clear near‑term operating beat. Waystar Holding (WAY) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management emphasized AI‑driven product initiatives on the earnings call, highlighting potential for higher long‑term revenue productivity and margin expansion if adoption accelerates. Waystar Holding Corp. Signals AI-Fueled Growth Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: Sell‑side support remains: Needham reaffirmed a “Buy” rating and a $33 price target, reinforcing analyst conviction in Waystar’s growth story. Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target from $40 to $38 but kept an “Overweight” rating — a mixed signal: the firm still expects upside but trimmed near‑term valuation assumptions. Benzinga: JPMorgan lowers Waystar PT
• Negative Sentiment: Management set FY‑2026 revenue around $1.274B–$1.294B and shifted Q2 guidance to flat to +1% sequential growth, flagging near‑term moderation that likely pressured the stock despite the beat. Waystar signals 2026 revenue of $1.274B-$1.294B while shifting Q2 sequential growth to flat-1%

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waystar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waystar by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,330,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,836,000 after purchasing an additional 41,062 shares during the last quarter. Advent International L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Waystar during the 4th quarter worth about $362,212,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waystar by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,282,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,993,000 after purchasing an additional 19,033 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Waystar by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,134,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,390,000 after purchasing an additional 159,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Waystar by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,415,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,514,000 after purchasing an additional 146,510 shares during the last quarter.

Waystar Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. Waystar had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The company had revenue of $313.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $311.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’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 Holding Corp. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waystar Company Profile

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.