Waters’ (WAT) Buy Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Guggenheim currently has a $440.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. HSBC started coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $460.00 target price on the stock. William Blair assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.68.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock opened at $319.88 on Tuesday. Waters has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $382.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $347.37.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. The business 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 3.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,295,612,000 after purchasing an additional 246,128 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Waters by 31.0% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP increased its stake in Waters by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,185,898,000 after purchasing an additional 347,091 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Waters by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after buying an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Waters by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $934,100,000 after buying an additional 37,763 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Waters

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

About Waters

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.