JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $340.00 to $380.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $386.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.97. Waters has a 1 year low of $241.95 and a 1 year high of $393.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $326.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters will post 11.67 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Waters by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after acquiring an additional 58,983 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 348.3% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 20,496 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,376,000 after purchasing an additional 15,924 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the third quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 8,032 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.1% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Waters by 8.2% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,780 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,160,000 after buying an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. 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.