Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Waters Corporation has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 21 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $401.60.
• Recent analyst updates have been mostly positive, including Buy/Outperform ratings from Guggenheim, RBC, and Sanford C. Bernstein, with several targets in the $435–$440 range.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $2.70 EPS versus the expected $2.31 and revenue of $1.27 billion, while also issuing full-year 2026 guidance of $14.40–$14.60 EPS.

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $401.60.

Several research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $435.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Waters by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $488,028,000 after acquiring an additional 348,379 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $602,921,000 after acquiring an additional 8,590 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 32.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $441,446,000 after purchasing an additional 359,596 shares during the period. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 17.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,019,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $303,556,000 after purchasing an additional 148,320 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $375.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. Waters has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $361.26 and a 200-day moving average of $346.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Waters will post 14.51 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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