Waters (NYSE:WAT) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Waters shares reached a new 52-week high of $483.33 during Wednesday trading, with the stock last quoted at $476.60.
• Analysts have a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, based on one Strong Buy, 17 Buy, and six Hold recommendations; several firms recently raised price targets, including Citi to $536 and Barclays to $530.
• Waters beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $4.10 per share versus the $4.00 estimate and revenue of $1.77 billion versus $1.75 billion expected.

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $483.33 and last traded at $476.5990, with a volume of 23,231 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $475.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $500.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on Waters from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waters from $470.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Waters from $465.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $475.48.

Waters Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 204.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $437.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $373.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released 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 9.91% and a net margin of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 120.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in Waters by 3.5% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC grew its stake 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. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 910 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation develops and supplies analytical instruments, software, and consumables used to identify, measure, and characterize chemical and biological materials. Its products include liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry systems, which help customers analyze complex samples. The company serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology businesses, academic and government laboratories, and customers in fields such as food, environmental testing, and materials science. Waters operates internationally, with customers and operations across multiple regions.

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.