Waters (NYSE:WAT) Given New $536.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Waters to $536 from $470 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 14.53% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Waters has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $475.48, with 18 analysts rating it Buy or Strong Buy.
• Waters beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting adjusted EPS of $4.10 and revenue of $1.77 billion; the company also raised its full-year 2026 outlook.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $470.00 to $536.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Citigroup's price objective points to a potential upside of 14.53% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Waters from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $490.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $515.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $440.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $475.48.

Waters Price Performance

WAT traded up $8.09 on Wednesday, hitting $467.99. 1,086,213 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,306. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $432.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.16. The firm has a market cap of $45.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16. Waters has a one year low of $282.77 and a one year high of $482.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $0.10. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 120.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Waters News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations and guidance rose. Adjusted EPS was $4.10 versus roughly $4.00 expected, while revenue of $1.767 billion topped estimates. Organic revenue grew 9% (10% in constant currency), and the company raised its full-year 2026 outlook. The reported 121% year-over-year revenue increase also reflects the impact of acquisitions. Waters Q3 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets. TD Cowen and Barclays lifted targets to $530, RBC to $525, and KeyCorp to $500; each maintained a positive rating, indicating further potential upside in their view. TD Cowen rating Barclays rating RBC rating KeyCorp rating
• Positive Sentiment: MOBILion acquisition expands Waters’ proteomics capabilities. Its high-resolution ion-mobility technology adds to Waters’ mass-spectrometry portfolio and is aimed at supporting faster, data-intensive research and AI-enabled drug discovery. MOBILion acquisition announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its target but remains neutral. Its new $470 target is close to the then-current share price, suggesting limited upside under its assessment. JPMorgan rating

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.

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