Waters (NYSE:WAT) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Waters shares reached a new 52-week high of $429.67, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $430.10. Recent targets range from $435 to $470.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.05 in EPS versus $3.01 expected and $1.65 billion in revenue versus $1.62 billion forecast; revenue increased 113.3% year over year.
• Waters trades at a high valuation, with a P/E ratio of 106.88 and PEG ratio of 2.43. A director recently sold 3,626 shares, while institutional investors own 94.01% of the stock.

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $429.67 and last traded at $430.2130, with a volume of 44033 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $418.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 6th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $435.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $430.10.

Waters Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $42.02 billion, a PE ratio of 106.88, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.19. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $397.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $356.34.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during 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%.Waters's revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $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, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at approximately $14,274,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Waters by 7.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 464,501 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $174,206,000 after acquiring an additional 32,355 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise boosted its position in shares of Waters by 53.3% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 47,551 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $17,847,000 after acquiring an additional 16,542 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in Waters during the second quarter valued at $300,000. Finally, Kintra Wealth LLC grew its stake in Waters by 4.3% during the second quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC now owns 1,510 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation NYSE: WAT develops and manufactures analytical workflow technologies used to measure, characterize and manage chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, industrial organizations, academic institutions and government laboratories.

The company's portfolio includes liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis instruments, along with chromatography columns, consumables, laboratory software and services.

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.