Waters (WAT) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Waters Corporation is a global leader in analytical science, specializing in the development, manufacture and distribution of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and mass spectrometry systems. The company’s instruments and consumables are widely used to separate, identify and quantify chemical and biochemical compounds across research, quality control and regulatory applications.

Waters’ product portfolio encompasses chromatographic columns, sample preparation devices, detectors, software platforms and mass spectrometers that serve industries such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, food and beverage, environmental testing and chemical manufacturing. Its solutions support method development, validation and routine testing workflows, enabling customers to meet stringent regulatory requirements and accelerate innovation in areas like drug discovery, clinical diagnostics and food safety.

Headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts, Waters operates sales, service and support centers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The company’s extensive global footprint ensures local technical assistance, training programs and application support for laboratories of all sizes. Waters is also active in collaborative research initiatives and maintains partnerships with leading academic and industrial laboratories to advance analytical methodologies.

Founded in 1958 by James L. Waters, the company has grown from pioneering the first microprocessor-controlled liquid chromatograph to delivering integrated solutions in separation and detection science. Since 2014, Udit Batra has served as President and Chief Executive Officer, guiding Waters through technological innovation and strategic expansion of its service offerings. Under his leadership, the company continues to invest in product development aimed at improving laboratory efficiency and data quality.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $285.00 to $299.60
• 50-Day Range: $287.39 to $366.80
• 52-Week Range: $284.65 to $423.56
• Volume: 717,082 shs
• Average Volume: 501,336 shs
• Market Capitalization: $17.10 billion
• P/E Ratio: 26.08
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $381.94
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Waters Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Waters scored higher than 98% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 36th out of 933 stocks in the medical sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 4.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Waters has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.56, and is based on 6 buy ratings, 10 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Waters has been the subject of 6 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 9.56%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Waters are expected to grow by 9.56% in the coming year, from $12.86 to $14.09 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Waters is 26.08, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 26.51.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Waters is 26.08, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 28.04.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Waters has a PEG Ratio of 2.93. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Waters has a P/B Ratio of 9.33. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.33% of the float of Waters has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Waters has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.3.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Waters has recently decreased by 52.26%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Waters does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Waters does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• Environmental Score: -1.55

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.33% of the float of Waters has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Waters has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.3.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Waters has recently decreased by 52.26%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.20

News Sentiment

Waters has a news sentiment score of 0.20. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.96 average news sentiment score of Medical companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 74 news articles for Waters this week, compared to 36 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

4 people have searched for WAT on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 100% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 1 people have added Waters to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of 0% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Waters insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.63% of the stock of Waters is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

94.01% of the stock of Waters is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

WAT Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have WAT shares performed this year?

Waters' stock was trading at $370.98 at the beginning of 2025. Since then, WAT stock has decreased by 22.5% and is now trading at $287.39.

How were Waters' earnings last quarter?

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May, 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript.

Does Waters have any subsidiaries?

Waters subsidiaries include these companies: Andrew Alliance S.A, Andrew Alliance, Rubotherm, MPE Orbur Group Ltd. (UK), ElectroForce, Blue Reference Inc., Baehr Thermoanalyse GmbH, and others.

Who are Waters' major shareholders?

Waters' top institutional investors include Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (0.87%), Assenagon Asset Management S.A. (0.07%), Swedbank AB (0.07%) and Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio (0.06%). Insiders that own company stock include Edward Conard, Christopher A Kuebler, Mark P Vergnano, Linda Baddour and Richard H Fearon.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Waters?

Shares of WAT stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Waters own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Waters investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Humana (HUM), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), AU Optronics (AUOTY) and Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/06/2025
• Today: 7/18/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/30/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Medical
• Industry: MED INSTRUMENTS
• Sub-Industry: Life Sciences Tools & Services
• Current Symbol: NYSE:WAT
• CIK: 1000697
• Web: www.waters.com
• Phone: (508) 478-2000
• Fax: 508-872-1990
• Employees: 7,600
• Year Founded: 1958

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Waters: $381.94
• High Price Target: $465.00
• Low Price Target: $325.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +33.1%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.56
• Research Coverage: 18 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $11.02
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 26.04
• Forward P/E Ratio: 22.31
• P/E Growth: 2.86
• Net Income: $637.83 million
• Net Margins: 22.02%
• Pretax Margin: 26.24%
• Return on Equity: 41.70%
• Return on Assets: 15.67%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.69
• Current Ratio: 1.81
• Quick Ratio: 1.28

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $2.96 billion
• Price / Sales: 5.77
• Cash Flow: $14.98 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 19.15
• Book Value: $30.80 per share
• Price / Book: 9.32

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 59,510,000
• Free Float: 59,134,000
• Market Cap: $17.08 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.10