Short Interest in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Grows By 12.4%

Key Points

• Short interest in Waters rose 12.4% to 3,730,912 shares as of April 15, equal to about 3.8% of the stock short and a days‑to‑cover ratio of 4.6.
• Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares at an average price of $289.46 on March 16, increasing his holdings to 3,441 shares, while corporate insiders own roughly 0.31% of the company.
• Analysts carry a Moderate Buy consensus with a $387.53 target; Waters beat quarterly EPS estimates ($4.53) and provided FY2026 guidance of 14.30–14.50 EPS.

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,730,912 shares, a growth of 12.4% from the March 31st total of 3,319,229 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 812,670 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position in shares of Waters by 121.2% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. William Blair started coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Evercore raised shares of Waters from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.53.

Waters Trading Up 5.9%

WAT stock opened at $309.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $309.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $351.75. Waters has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15. The stock has a market cap of $30.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $928.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waters will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.

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