Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered the price target for Waters stock from $330 to $315, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, suggesting an upside potential of 11.49% from the current price.
• Various analysts have recently issued ratings changes on Waters, with Barclays setting a new target of $350 and Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price of $378.73.
• Waters reported earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, with a quarterly net margin of 22.02% and 8.8% year-over-year revenue growth, reflecting its strong operational performance in the medical instruments sector.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $330.00 to $315.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target suggests a potential upside of 11.49% from the company's current price.

WAT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on shares of Waters and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $378.73.

Waters Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE WAT traded down $3.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $282.54. 129,040 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 604,783. Waters has a one year low of $279.19 and a one year high of $423.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $331.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.61. The stock has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. Waters had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 41.70%. The business had revenue of $771.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. Waters's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,642 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,774,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Waters during the 1st quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 169.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,283,000 after buying an additional 7,301 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waters

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.

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