Leerink Partnrs Brokers Reduce Earnings Estimates for Waters

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for Waters in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs analyst P. Souda now anticipates that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $2.92 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.95. The consensus estimate for Waters’ current full-year earnings is $12.86 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Waters’ FY2025 earnings at $12.89 EPS.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS.

WAT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $343.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $349.55 and a 200 day moving average of $369.86. Waters has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The company has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 4.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 415,069 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $152,982,000 after purchasing an additional 16,542 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,769,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,272,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,680,334,000 after buying an additional 173,584 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth $111,000. Finally, Argent Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Waters by 27.6% during the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.