Waters (WAT) Competitors

Bruker (NASDAQ:BRKR) and Waters (NYSE:WAT) are both life sciences tools & services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in BRKR or WAT?

79.5% of Bruker shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.0% of Waters shares are owned by institutional investors. 27.3% of Bruker shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Waters shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer BRKR or WAT?

In the previous week, Waters had 37 more articles in the media than Bruker. MarketBeat recorded 48 mentions for Waters and 11 mentions for Bruker. Bruker's average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat Waters' score of 0.71 indicating that Bruker is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Bruker	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Waters	22 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better valuation & earnings, BRKR or WAT?

Waters has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Bruker. Waters is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bruker, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bruker	$3.37B	1.60	$113.10M	$0.52	68.35
Waters	$3.05B	5.90	$637.83M	$11.09	27.23

Which has more volatility & risk, BRKR or WAT?

Bruker has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waters has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BRKR or WAT more profitable?

Waters has a net margin of 21.71% compared to Bruker's net margin of 2.31%. Waters' return on equity of 38.60% beat Bruker's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bruker	2.31%	17.89%	5.38%
Waters	21.71%	38.60%	15.87%

Do analysts recommend BRKR or WAT?

Bruker presently has a consensus price target of $51.30, indicating a potential upside of 44.34%. Waters has a consensus price target of $378.73, indicating a potential upside of 25.44%. Given Bruker's higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Bruker is more favorable than Waters.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bruker	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.45
Waters	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.47

Summary

Waters beats Bruker on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.