Waters - WAT Stock Forecast, Price & News

Waters Corporation, a specialty measurement company, 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. It also designs, manufactures, sells, and services thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments; and develops and supplies software-based products that interface with its instruments, as well as other manufacturers' instruments. Its MS technology instruments are used in drug discovery and development comprising clinical trial testing, the analysis of proteins in disease processes, nutritional safety analysis, and environmental testing. The company offers thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments for use in predicting the suitability and stability of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water, polymers, metals, and viscous liquids for various industrial, consumer good, and healthcare products, as well as for life science research. Its products are used by life science, pharmaceutical, biochemical, industrial, nutritional safety, environmental, academic, and governmental customers working in research and development, quality assurance, and other laboratory applications. Waters Corporation was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Waters from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $330.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 17th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, May 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $375.00 price target for the company. Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waters to $378.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Waters from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $348.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $353.00.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $331.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.82. Waters has a one year low of $288.32 and a one year high of $428.22. The company's fifty day moving average is $334.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $324.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.12. Waters had a net margin of 24.21% and a return on equity of 203.31%. The company had revenue of $714.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Waters will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.78, for a total value of $1,315,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,623,961.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.