Waters’ (WAT) Buy Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Waters (NYSE:WAT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Guggenheim in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $440.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Guggenheim’s price objective points to a potential upside of 18.33% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WAT. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC raised their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $399.84.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $371.84 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $354.18 and its 200 day moving average is $346.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $36.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.97, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.20. Waters has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waters will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Waters by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Waters by 509.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $254,906,000 after purchasing an additional 561,047 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Waters by 1,611.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,705,000 after purchasing an additional 547,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2,281.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $204,619,000 after buying an additional 516,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.