Short Interest in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Increases By 24.6%

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,620,000 shares, an increase of 24.6% from the February 13th total of 1,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 470,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $378.65. The company had a trading volume of 359,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 437,361. Waters has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $391.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $370.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAT. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its stake in Waters by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 2.4% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,565,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 3.8% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $391.07.

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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.

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