Bank of America Cuts Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target to $350.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target cut by Bank of America from $410.00 to $350.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WAT. Wolfe Research raised shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.68.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $319.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $382.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Waters has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 36.45% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 3.3% during the 3rd 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. raised its position in Waters by 31.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 950,687 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP boosted its stake in Waters by 9.6% in the third quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,185,898,000 after acquiring an additional 347,091 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $806,397,000 after acquiring an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $934,100,000 after purchasing an additional 37,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.