Waters (WAT) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. It also designs, manufactures, sells, and services thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments; and develops and supplies software-based products that interface with its instruments, as well as other manufacturers' instruments. In addition, the company offers MS technology instruments are used in drug discovery and development comprising clinical trial testing, the analysis of proteins in disease processes, nutritional safety analysis, and environmental testing. Further, the company provides thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments for use in predicting the suitability and stability of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water, polymers, metals, and viscous liquids for various industrial, consumer good, and healthcare products, as well as for life science research. Its products are used by clinical, pharmaceutical, biochemical, industrial, nutritional safety, environmental, academic, and governmental customers working in research and development, quality assurance, and other laboratory applications. The company was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $379.86 to $394.66
• 50-Day Range: $368.26 to $417.25
• 52-Week Range: $279.24 to $423.56
• Volume: 645,636 shs
• Average Volume: 438,667 shs
• Market Capitalization: $22.89 billion
• P/E Ratio: 35.98
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $391.07
• Consensus Rating: Hold

Waters Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Waters scored higher than 78% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 224th out of 943 stocks in the medical sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.2 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Hold

Consensus Rating

Waters has received a consensus rating of Hold. The company's average rating score is 2.44, and is based on 5 buy ratings, 10 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Waters has been the subject of 7 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 9.56%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Waters are expected to grow by 9.56% in the coming year, from $12.86 to $14.09 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Waters is 35.98, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 23.64.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Waters is 35.98, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 24.97.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Waters has a PEG Ratio of 3.79. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Waters has a P/B Ratio of 12.51. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.19% of the float of Waters has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Waters has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.7, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Waters has recently decreased by 18.75%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Waters does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Waters does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• Environmental Score: -1.55

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.19% of the float of Waters has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Waters has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.7, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Waters has recently decreased by 18.75%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.41

News Sentiment

Waters has a news sentiment score of 0.41. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Medical companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 23 news articles for Waters this week, compared to 30 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 9 people have searched for WAT on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -71% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

7 people have added Waters to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 40% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Waters insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.82% of the stock of Waters is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

94.01% of the stock of Waters is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

WAT Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have WAT shares performed this year?

Waters' stock was trading at $370.98 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, WAT stock has increased by 3.9% and is now trading at $385.3270.
View the best growth stocks for 2025 here.

How were Waters' earnings last quarter?

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February, 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 46.31%.
Read the conference call transcript.

Does Waters have any subsidiaries?

Waters subsidiaries include these companies: Andrew Alliance S.A, Andrew Alliance, Rubotherm, MPE Orbur Group Ltd. (UK), ElectroForce, Blue Reference Inc., Baehr Thermoanalyse GmbH, and more.

Who are Waters' major shareholders?

Top institutional investors of Waters include Vanguard Group Inc. (11.95%), Fundsmith LLP (6.12%), Wealthfront Advisers LLC (5.20%) and Alliancebernstein L.P. (4.47%). Insiders that own company stock include Edward Conard, Christopher A Kuebler, Mark P Vergnano, Linda Baddour and Richard H Fearon.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Waters?

Shares of WAT stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Waters own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Waters investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Humana (HUM), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), AUO (AUOTY) and Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 2/12/2025
• Today: 3/07/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 5/06/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Medical
• Industry: Analytical instruments
• Sub-Industry: Life Sciences Tools & Services
• Current Symbol: NYSE:WAT
• CIK: 1000697
• Web: www.waters.com
• Phone: (508) 478-2000
• Fax: 508-872-1990
• Employees: 7,900
• Year Founded: 1958

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $391.07
• High Stock Price Target: $450.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $312.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +1.5%
• Consensus Rating: Hold
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.44
• Research Coverage: 16 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $10.71
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 35.98
• Forward P/E Ratio: 29.96
• P/E Growth: 3.79
• Net Income: $637.83 million
• Net Margins: 21.56%
• Pretax Margin: 25.52%
• Return on Equity: 46.31%
• Return on Assets: 15.67%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.14
• Current Ratio: 0.94
• Quick Ratio: 0.65

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $2.96 billion
• Price / Sales: 7.74
• Cash Flow: $15.30 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 25.18
• Book Value: $30.80 per share
• Price / Book: 12.51

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 59,411,000
• Free Float: 58,889,000
• Market Cap: $22.89 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.01