Waters (NYSE:WAT) Trading Down 8.6% – What’s Next?

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)’s stock price was down 8.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $302.04 and last traded at $305.5350. Approximately 127,226 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,028,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at $334.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WAT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Evercore raised shares of Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.53.

Waters Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $312.17 and its 200 day moving average is $352.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted 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 net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The company had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,295,612,000 after buying an additional 246,128 shares during the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.6% in the third quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,185,898,000 after buying an additional 347,091 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 44.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after buying an additional 825,723 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $602,921,000 after buying an additional 8,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 225.5% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $465,008,000 after buying an additional 1,074,449 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.