Leerink Partnrs Issues Positive Estimate for Waters Earnings

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs lifted their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Waters in a report issued on Sunday, November 3rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst P. Souda now anticipates that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $2.45 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.43. Leerink Partnrs has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waters’ current full-year earnings is $11.67 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Waters’ Q2 2025 earnings at $3.02 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $12.94 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $14.16 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $386.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $345.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $327.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters has a 12-month low of $246.35 and a 12-month high of $393.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,368,067,000 after acquiring an additional 41,654 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its position in Waters by 1.1% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,404,000 after buying an additional 11,851 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Waters by 1.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $219,811,000 after buying an additional 6,647 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.