Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Waystar set FY 2026 guidance of EPS $1.590–1.680 (consensus $1.600) and revenue $1.3 billion, effectively in line with Street estimates.
• Analyst views are mixed but generally positive: MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $36.65, though individual price targets and ratings range from a sell downgrade to strong-buy assessments.
• The stock traded at about $25.27 midday (market cap ~$4.84B, P/E ~41.4) and has seen notable institutional buying, including a ~$362M stake by Advent International.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.590-1.680 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.600. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.3 billion-$1.3 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.3 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Waystar from $41.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of Waystar in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waystar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waystar from $54.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Waystar in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waystar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.65.

Waystar Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WAY traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.27. 1,618,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,571,371. Waystar has a fifty-two week low of $20.93 and a fifty-two week high of $42.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.83. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 41.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.87.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. Waystar had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $313.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.72 million. Waystar has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.590-1.680 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waystar will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waystar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advent International L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Waystar during the 4th quarter worth about $362,212,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Waystar by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,134,052 shares of the company's stock worth $135,390,000 after purchasing an additional 159,183 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Waystar by 3,883.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,268,932 shares of the company's stock worth $133,601,000 after purchasing an additional 3,186,869 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Waystar by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,164,546 shares of the company's stock worth $103,639,000 after purchasing an additional 646,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Waystar by 63.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,130,230 shares of the company's stock worth $118,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209,276 shares in the last quarter.

About Waystar

Waystar NASDAQ: WAY is a leading provider of cloud-based revenue cycle management and payment solutions for healthcare organizations. The company's unified platform streamlines the entire financial continuum of patient care, from eligibility verification and claim submission to payment reconciliation and patient billing. By automating key processes and improving claim accuracy, Waystar helps providers reduce administrative overhead, accelerate cash flow and enhance overall revenue performance.

At the core of Waystar's offering is a SaaS-based architecture that integrates seamlessly with existing electronic health record (EHR) systems and payer networks.

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.