Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $380.00 to $415.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.21% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $387.09 on Monday. Waters has a one year low of $241.95 and a one year high of $391.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $343.05 and its 200 day moving average is $326.09. The stock has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 0.4% during the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.2% during the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,797,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.