Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Price Target Raised at Barclays

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Barclays from $500.00 to $530.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 12.78% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on WAT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $465.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $470.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waters from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised Waters from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.43.

Waters Stock Up 2.2%

WAT traded up $10.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $469.93. 562,965 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 967,967. The company has a market cap of $46.17 billion, a PE ratio of 117.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $432.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Waters has a one year low of $282.77 and a one year high of $482.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company’s revenue was up 120.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waters will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,182,191,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Waters by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,382,008 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,643,428,000 after buying an additional 19,998 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $623,921,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 69.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,373,150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $514,986,000 after buying an additional 561,824 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Waters

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target to $525 from $475 and maintained an “outperform” rating. KeyCorp also lifted its target, to $500 from $460, with an “overweight” rating—both revisions signal greater analyst confidence. Royal Bank of Canada price target update KeyCorp rating
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.10 topped the roughly $4.00 consensus, and revenue of $1.77 billion exceeded estimates. Waters reported 9% organic revenue growth and raised its 2026 outlook, providing a key fundamental reason for investor optimism. Waters Q3 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: Management outlined a 2027 framework targeting a 29.2% adjusted operating margin and a path to high-single-digit growth, supporting the longer-term outlook. Waters 2027 framework
• Positive Sentiment: Waters acquired MOBILion Systems to add high-resolution ion-mobility technology to its mass spectrometry portfolio, expanding its proteomics capabilities. The CEO also pointed to AI-related demand for lab tools as drugmakers seek to accelerate research. MOBILion acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent valuation-focused article raises the question of whether WAT’s shares already reflect its improved outlook. That may temper enthusiasm, particularly given the stock’s elevated valuation. Waters valuation discussion

About Waters

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company’s product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.