Waystar (NASDAQ:WAY) Stock Price Up 8.3% Following 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.

Shares of Waystar Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:WAY - Get Free Report) rose 8.3% during 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 mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 1,822,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.27.

WAY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Waystar in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Waystar in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective 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 initiated coverage on shares of Waystar in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Waystar to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eleven have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waystar has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider T. Craig Bridge sold 85,000 shares of Waystar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.06, for a total value of $3,405,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 583,355 shares in the company, valued at $23,369,201.30. This trade represents a 12.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric L. (Ric) Sinclair III sold 19,404 shares of Waystar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $776,742.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 474,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,007,284.78. The trade was a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 367,481 shares of company stock worth $13,966,561 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Waystar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waystar by 62.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,090,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $302,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,099,211 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waystar by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 5,239,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,940 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Waystar by 3,883.4% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,268,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,601,000 after purchasing an additional 3,186,869 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waystar by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,376,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,155,000 after purchasing an additional 309,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Waystar by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,087,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,323,000 after purchasing an additional 201,262 shares in the last quarter.

Waystar Stock Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 77.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $36.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.94.

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

Waystar Company Profile

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