Waters (NYSE:WAT) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday, Zacks.com reports. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Waters’ Q3 2024 earnings at $2.70 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $4.12 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $11.65 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $2.48 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.00 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.03 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.41 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $12.91 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on WAT. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a hold rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, SVB Leerink upgraded Waters from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $310.58.

Waters Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $345.66 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $303.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.00. Waters has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $367.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.92, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The business had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waters will post 11.6 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard H. Fearon purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard H. Fearon purchased 1,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at $550,283.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total value of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its position in Waters by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,404,000 after purchasing an additional 11,851 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Waters by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $189,417,000 after purchasing an additional 51,853 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $206,286,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Waters by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $152,664,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waters

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.