Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target to $370.00

Posted by Geri Gentry on May 16th, 2026

Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $355.00 to $370.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.40% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Waters

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $329.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $32.32 billion, a PE ratio of 41.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $313.90 and a 200-day moving average of $351.86. Waters has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. Waters’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. 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, equities analysts forecast that Waters will post 14.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Waters by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after purchasing an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.