Waters (NYSE:WAT) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $429.67 and last traded at $430.2130, with a volume of 44033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $475.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price target on Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.10.

Waters Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $42.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $397.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $356.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Waters by 25.4% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 138,423 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,222,000 after acquiring an additional 28,074 shares during the period. Dudley & Shanley Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $8,847,000 after acquiring an additional 11,870 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in shares of Waters by 329.0% during the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293 shares during the period. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $942,000. Finally, Hahn Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,490,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waters

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) develops and manufactures analytical workflow technologies used to measure, characterize and manage chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, industrial organizations, academic institutions and government laboratories.

The company’s portfolio includes liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis instruments, along with chromatography columns, consumables, laboratory software and services.