Waters (NYSE:WAT) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WAT. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.60.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $370.93 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $36.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.20. Waters has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $363.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $345.93.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its position in Waters by 8.0% during the second quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 4,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,776,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Waters by 93.1% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 93,653 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,124,000 after acquiring an additional 45,145 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $221,000. CPA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Dudley & Shanley Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 101.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 23,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,847,000 after purchasing an additional 11,870 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.