FY2025 EPS Estimates for Waters Lifted by Leerink Partnrs

Key Points

• Leerink Partners has increased their FY2025 earnings estimate for Waters Corporation to $13.00 per share, up from $12.89, indicating positive outlook for the company.
• Waters reported $2.95 earnings per share for its latest quarter, surpassing consensus estimates, with revenue of $771.33 million, marking an 8.8% increase year-over-year.
• Institutional investors own 94.01% of Waters' stock, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Vanguard Group and AllianceBernstein during the first quarter.

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs lifted their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Waters in a research report issued on Monday, August 4th. Leerink Partnrs analyst P. Souda now expects that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $13.00 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $12.89. The consensus estimate for Waters' current full-year earnings is $12.86 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Waters' Q4 2025 earnings at $4.58 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on WAT. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Waters from $374.00 to $352.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on shares of Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Waters and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $378.73.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $277.75. The company had a trading volume of 707,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,604. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $326.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $351.72. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $276.00 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. Waters had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 38.60%. The business had revenue of $771.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Waters during the first quarter valued at $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Waters by 118.9% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 81 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 5,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waters

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.