Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Trading Up 8.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Waystar's share price increased by 8.3% following an upgrade to a strong-buy rating by Baird R W, reaching as high as $40.39.
• The company has a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $44.67, reflecting positive outlooks from several firms.
• Waystar reported a 15.4% year-over-year revenue increase in its latest earnings, with a revenue of $270.65 million and an EPS of $0.36, exceeding estimates.

Waystar Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:WAY - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 8.3% during mid-day trading on Monday after Baird R W upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $40.39 and last traded at $40.35. Approximately 1,237,257 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 1,822,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.27.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on WAY. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Waystar in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Waystar in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Waystar from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Waystar in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Waystar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $44.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Christopher L. Schremser sold 8,623 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.49, for a total value of $297,407.27. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 438,044 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,108,137.56. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew J. Hawkins sold 46,667 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.66, for a total transaction of $1,617,478.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 764,131 shares in the company, valued at $26,484,780.46. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 246,411 shares of company stock valued at $9,110,688. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waystar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Waystar by 3,883.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,268,932 shares of the company's stock worth $133,601,000 after acquiring an additional 3,186,869 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waystar by 62.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,090,547 shares of the company's stock worth $302,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,099,211 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Waystar by 9,107.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,040,285 shares of the company's stock worth $76,225,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,125 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waystar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,577,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Waystar by 721.4% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,202,340 shares of the company's stock worth $44,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,965 shares in the last quarter.

Waystar Stock Up 7.5%

The company has a current ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.92, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $36.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.97.

Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Waystar had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 5.65%. The company had revenue of $270.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $255.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. Waystar has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.360-1.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waystar Holding Corp. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

About Waystar

Waystar Holding Corp. is a software company which provide healthcare payments. Waystar Holding Corp. is based in LEHI, Utah.

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