Waters (NYSE:WAT) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Waters shares reached a new 52-week high, trading near $465.85 after Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target from $360 to $380, though it maintained a Hold rating.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $457.50; UBS and Guggenheim have set targets as high as $490.
• Waters exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.05 in adjusted EPS versus a $3.01 estimate and $1.65 billion in revenue versus $1.62 billion expected. The company projects fiscal 2026 EPS of $14.45–$14.65.

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $360.00 to $380.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Waters traded as high as $465.45 and last traded at $465.8490, with a volume of 293,172 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $455.98.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $465.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, July 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Waters from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group raised Waters from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $375.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Waters from $440.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $457.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director owned 17,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth $30,000. Caitlin John LLC grew its position in Waters by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $45.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.35, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $425.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $369.05.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. Waters's quarterly revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Waters

Waters Corporation NYSE: WAT develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company's product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.

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