Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Waters “Moderate Buy”: Of 20 analysts, 11 recommend buying, three strongly recommend buying and six rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $434.60.
• Shares trade near their 52-week high: Waters opened at $443.80, up 2.4%, with a market capitalization of approximately $43.6 billion.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: The company reported adjusted earnings of $3.05 per share versus the $3.01 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.65 billion, up 113.3% year over year. Analysts expect full-year 2026 earnings of about $14.56 per share.

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $434.60.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waters from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. The trade was 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 accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new stake in Waters during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 43.9% during the second quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Trading Up 2.4%

WAT opened at $443.80 on Tuesday. Waters has a 52 week low of $282.77 and a 52 week high of $445.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $406.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $363.03. The firm has a market cap of $43.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Waters will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation NYSE: WAT develops and manufactures analytical workflow technologies used to measure, characterize and manage chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, industrial organizations, academic institutions and government laboratories.

The company's portfolio includes liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis instruments, along with chromatography columns, consumables, laboratory software and services.

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