Waters (NYSE:WAT) Updates Q3 Earnings Guidance

Waters (NYSE:WAT) issued an update on its third quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.60-$2.70 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $2.88. The company issued revenue guidance of $708.1-$722.4, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $733.15 million. Waters also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 11.550-11.650 EPS.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT traded down $6.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $345.66. 696,557 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 446,807. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $303.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $321.77. Waters has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $367.21.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. Leerink Partnrs raised Waters from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday. SVB Leerink raised shares of Waters from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $310.58.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,283.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total value of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at $5,321,894.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% 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.