Waters (NYSE:WAT) Research Coverage Started at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $360.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. William Blair began coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.68.

Waters Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $319.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $382.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.53. Waters has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.17 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 36.45%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waters by 225.5% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $465,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,449 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Waters by 31.0% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Waters by 44.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after purchasing an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $266,384,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $175,320,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Waters News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major analyst coverage initiated or upgraded: Barclays started coverage with an “overweight” and $400 PT, Guggenheim issued a “Buy”, Citigroup and Evercore ISI also initiated coverage — these moves add buy-side interest and longer-term upside potential. Analyst Coverage & Barclays PT
• Positive Sentiment: Completion of the combination with BD’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions businesses — strategic scale and portfolio expansion that could support future revenue growth and synergies. Waters Completes Combination with BD
• Neutral Sentiment: BD completed its spin-off/merger with Waters and took steps to pivot its own portfolio, raising proceeds reported around $4B — important corporate context but impact on near-term WAT earnings is uncertain. BD Merges Biosciences & Diagnostics With Waters
• Neutral Sentiment: Non-market personal news (Waters announces arrival of first child) — human-interest item unlikely to move the stock. Waters announces arrival of first child
• Negative Sentiment: Weak Q1 profit outlook and cautious management commentary after the Q4 call drove an immediate sell reaction; news coverage flags that the company forecasted a weak first-quarter profit, which is the main near-term catalyst for the decline. MarketWatch: Shares Fall After Low Profit Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Certain sell-side revisions and lower targets: Bank of America trimmed its PT to $350 and Wells Fargo cut its PT to $355 (now equal weight), reflecting more cautious near-term expectations from some brokers. Bank of America Lowers Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/flow pressure: the stock is trading below its 50-day moving average and volume is significantly above average — technical weakness that can exacerbate short-term downside. MSN: Stock Underperforms Peers

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.