Barclays Begins Coverage on Waters (NYSE:WAT)

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 21.34% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WAT. HSBC initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America cut their price target on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.68.

Waters Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Waters stock opened at $329.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.18. Waters has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $383.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $347.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 36.45%. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 3.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,295,612,000 after purchasing an additional 246,128 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Waters by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after buying an additional 950,687 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP grew its position in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Waters by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $806,397,000 after acquiring an additional 825,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Waters by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $934,100,000 after acquiring an additional 37,763 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Waters News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded WAT to a “strong-buy” and set a $400 price target (~21% above current). This is a clear bullish signal from a major house and supports upside momentum. Barclays Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim affirmed its “buy” rating and maintains a $440 price target, the most optimistic analyst view and a driver of buy-side interest. Guggenheim Affirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup initiated coverage with a “buy” and a $425 target, adding institutional attention and further supportive analyst demand for the shares. Citi Initiates Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Evercore ISI began coverage with a “hold” and $360 target — indicates some caution from research despite increased coverage. Evercore Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Waters completed the combination with BD’s Biosciences & Diagnostic businesses — strategically increases scale but creates integration and execution risk that investors will monitor closely. BD Combination Complete
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America cut its price target to $350 and moved to a neutral view, signaling reduced near-term enthusiasm vs. earlier levels. BofA Lowers Target
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its target from $415 to $355 and set an “equal weight” rating — another sign of subdued near-term expectations from a major desk. Wells Fargo Lowers Target
• Negative Sentiment: Company commentary and coverage highlighted a weak Q1 profit outlook tied to the transition/close of the BD deal; those comments have pressured the stock at points this week. Profit Outlook / Shares Slide

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.