Waters (NYSE:WAT) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $11.55-$11.65 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.78. Waters also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 11.550-11.650 EPS.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock traded down $6.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $345.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 696,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,807. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $303.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $321.77. Waters has a 12 month low of $231.90 and a 12 month high of $367.21. The company has a market capitalization of $20.52 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Waters will post 11.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Waters from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday. SVB Leerink raised Waters from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $310.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Richard H. Fearon purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at $5,321,894.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.