Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company reaffirmed a “Buy” rating on Waystar and set a $33 price target, implying 36.31% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Waystar receiving an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $35, despite some recent downgrades.
• Waystar exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.43 in earnings per share and $319.67 million in revenue, with revenue rising 18.1% year over year.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 36.31% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waystar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Waystar from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Waystar from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Waystar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Waystar to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waystar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.00.

Waystar Price Performance

Waystar stock opened at $24.21 on Wednesday. Waystar has a 12-month low of $17.26 and a 12-month high of $41.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.06. The firm's 50-day moving average is $22.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. Waystar had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 7.03%. The business had revenue of $319.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waystar will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waystar

In other Waystar news, CEO Matthew J. Hawkins sold 60,038 shares of Waystar stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $1,501,550.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,835,081 shares in the company, valued at $45,895,375.81. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Waystar during the second quarter worth about $390,593,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waystar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $357,950,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waystar by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,330,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,836,000 after purchasing an additional 41,062 shares in the last quarter. Advent International L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Waystar during the 2nd quarter worth about $227,060,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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