Leerink Partnrs Has Positive View of Waters FY2024 Earnings

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs lifted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Waters in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, November 3rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst P. Souda now anticipates that the medical instruments supplier will earn $11.77 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $11.65. Leerink Partnrs currently 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’ Q4 2024 earnings at $4.00 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.12 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $4.35 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on WAT. Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $386.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 2.02. Waters has a 52-week low of $241.95 and a 52-week high of $393.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $344.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $326.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Institutional Trading of Waters

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Waters

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.