Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Trading 7.7% Higher - Here's Why

Key Points

• Waystar shares jumped 7.7% to about $24.16 on Wednesday, with trading volume roughly 48% below the stock's average daily volume.
• The company reported Q4 EPS of $0.36 (missing estimates of $0.39) while revenue of $303.5M beat expectations and rose 24.3% year-over-year; Waystar issued FY2026 guidance of 1.590–1.680 EPS.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $36.65 price target despite recent target cuts, and institutional investors have made large purchases while an insider sold 40,225 shares.

Waystar Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:WAY - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 7.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $24.25 and last traded at $24.1550. Approximately 1,328,103 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 2,561,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WAY shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Waystar from $51.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Waystar from $45.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Waystar in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Waystar in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Waystar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Three investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.65.

Waystar Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). Waystar had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 10.20%.The business had revenue of $303.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $294.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Waystar has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.590-1.680 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Waystar Holding Corp. will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric L. (Ric) Sinclair III sold 40,225 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.08, for a total transaction of $1,209,968.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 474,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,282,766.08. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waystar

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advent International L.P. bought a new stake in Waystar during the 4th quarter worth about $362,212,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waystar by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,289,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,030,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,586 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Waystar during the third quarter worth $95,497,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Waystar by 4,717.4% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,814,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,979 shares during 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.

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