Key Points
- Insider purchase: Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares at $289.46 on March 16, increasing his stake 17% to 3,441 shares (SEC Form 4 filing), a common signal of insider confidence.
- Waters beat quarterly estimates with $4.53 EPS (vs. $4.50 expected) and $932.4M revenue (+6.9% YoY) and provided FY2026 guidance of $14.30–$14.50 EPS, underscoring continued operational strength.
- Offsetting optimism, Waters priced a substantial $3.5 billion senior notes offering (2027–2036 maturities), which may raise leverage and interest-cost concerns, even as analysts remain moderately bullish with an average price target of $393.84.
Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.
Waters Trading Up 1.1%
Shares of NYSE:WAT traded up $3.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $298.28. The stock had a trading volume of 76,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,085,462. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm's fifty day moving average is $346.42 and its 200 day moving average is $351.10. The stock has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.20.
Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. Waters's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.10 earnings per share. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Waters by 225.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $465,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,449 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted 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 valued at $806,397,000 after purchasing an additional 825,723 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $266,384,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Waters by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $471,447,000 after buying an additional 656,436 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
WAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore started coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $393.84.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on WAT
Waters News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares at $289.46, increasing his stake by 17%—a classic insider-buy signal that can be interpreted as confidence in the company’s outlook. Director Wei Jiang Form 4
- Neutral Sentiment: Coverage note: Barchart highlights that WAT has underperformed the Dow over the past year but says analysts remain moderately bullish — indicating mixed sentiment: longer-term concerns about relative performance but continued analyst confidence. Is Waters Corporation Stock Underperforming the Dow?
- Negative Sentiment: Waters priced a substantial $3.5 billion offering of senior notes across 2027–2036 maturities via subsidiary Augusta SpinCo — a large debt raise that may raise investor concerns about leverage, interest expense and capital allocation (use of proceeds not detailed). Size and additional interest-bearing debt likely weigh on near-term sentiment. Waters Prices Offering of Senior Notes
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.
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