Braidwell LP Takes Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Braidwell LP acquired 14,040 shares of Waters Corporation during the second quarter, valued at approximately $5.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.01% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Waters receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $424.35; TD Cowen recently upgraded the stock to “Buy” with a $475 target.
• Waters reported quarterly earnings of $3.05 per share, beating estimates of $3.01, while revenue reached $1.65 billion and rose 113.3% year over year. Shares opened at $412.15, near the company’s 52-week high of $426.22.

Braidwell LP acquired a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $5,266,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $73,733,000 after purchasing an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Waters by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $475.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $424.35.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $412.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $390.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $350.41. The stock has a market cap of $40.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $282.77 and a one year high of $426.22.

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. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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