Waters (NYSE:WAT) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Waters shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $454.54 and last changing hands near $444.90, while remaining above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analysts are broadly optimistic, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $437.10; several firms recently raised targets to between $460 and $475.
• Waters exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $3.05 in EPS and $1.65 billion in revenue, though its valuation is elevated at roughly 108 times earnings. An insider also sold shares, while institutions own about 94% of the stock.

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $454.54 and last traded at $444.9030, with a volume of 52745 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $440.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $435.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $437.10.

Waters Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.15. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $412.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $368.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. 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, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,182,191,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Waters by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,382,008 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,643,428,000 after buying an additional 19,998 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at $623,921,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 27.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $488,028,000 after buying an additional 348,379 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waters

Waters Corporation NYSE: WAT develops and manufactures analytical workflow solutions used to measure, characterize and separate chemical and biological materials. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic and government laboratories, and organizations in the industrial, food, environmental and other applied markets.

The company's portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometry instruments, chromatography columns and other laboratory consumables.

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