The framework has shifted from markup to markdown since the last review. Price is trending lower. Sellers are in control and the prior trend has reversed. Price has moved up 1.2% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 4%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 22%. The street (21 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $401.
Waters Corporation
WAT · a US exchange · USD · Market cap $39.7B · 16,000 employees
Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe.
PASS · Titan Ethical · score 80.4At the last full screen
2026-09-09
Screened 2026-09-09 · the tape above runs as of 19:00 UTC · two dates, stated on purpose · verdict and workings shown in full · never trimmed
This name holds its accumulation label.
Waters Corporation holds its Accumulation at $404.81. The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 1 days.
| Phase | Accumulation |
| Quantitative state | The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 1 days |
| Price at the screen | $404.81 |
| Valuation | 102.48 trailing · 24.46 forward price to earnings |
| Values screen | PASS · score 80.4 |
| Beta | 1.19 |
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Full pass across all five screens. This security clears the Titan Ethical Standard: its business and its balance sheet both stay inside the lines.
| Test | Figure | Limit | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business activity | Permissible | Core business clean | Its core business isn't built on prohibited lines: no gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, or interest-based lending. | Pass |
| Debt load | 29.37% | Below 33% | Interest-bearing debt is just 29.4% of its assets, well under the one-third ceiling: it does not run on borrowed money. | Pass |
| Interest-bearing cash | 0.00% | Below 33% | Cash held in interest-bearing accounts and securities is 0.0% of assets, under the one-third limit. | Pass |
| Receivables | 27.91% | Below 49% | Money owed to the company is 27.9% of assets, under the 49% limit. | Pass |
| Revenue purity | 0.59% | Below 5% | Only 0.6% of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, under the 5% line. | Pass |
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
What the Numbers Say It Is WorthThe Fair Value Range
Our framework reads FAIR VALUE: it trades at roughly a 1% discount to our $407.01 fair value, narrow competitive moat, 113.40% revenue growth.
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-09-09 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 0.5% margin of safety to the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 23 covering, consensus Buy. The average target sits +11% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Our more conservative model reads it as roughly fairly valued here, while the Street is more bullish: a quality-at-a-fair-price name rather than a deep-value one.
Price History & ProjectionsWhere it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-09-09 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain WordsLab tools firm trades close to fair value
Every pharma lab running chromatography tests to check new medicines depends on reliable hardware that Waters builds and services across Asia, Europe and the Americas. The business is posting 91% revenue growth, carries a narrow moat, clears the ethical screen and sits just 6% below our fair value estimate at a forward P/E of 22.4x, which matches the steady but unspectacular profile.
Profit margins sit at 12% yet return on equity is only 5%, a reminder that scale alone does not guarantee high returns. Twenty-four analysts still carry a buy consensus with a median target of $419, reflecting the defensive demand for its liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry systems.
The narrow moat and modest ROE leave little room for error if growth slows or competition intensifies in the diagnostics niche. Currency swings and capital spending cycles remain the main variables to watch.
Analysis, not advice.
| Forward P/E | 24.5xcheap for a company growing this fast |
| Trailing P/E | 102.5xexpensive: the price assumes strong growth ahead |
| EPS, trailing | 3.95 |
| EPS, forward | 16.55 |
| Revenue growth | +113.4%growing very fast |
| Profit margin | 3.6%barely profitable |
| Return on equity | 1.9%a modest return on shareholder capital |
| FCF yield | -0.36% |
| Debt to equity | 0.36minimal debt: a conservative balance sheet |
| Current ratio | 1.86healthy short-term liquidity |
| Beta | 1.19moves a little more than the market |
| Short interest, float | 0.04% |
| 52-week range | 282.77 - 426.22 |
| Moat | NARROW |
| Market cap | $39.7B |
| Employees | 16,000 |
The risks · The main risks here are ordinary market swings and the chance our fair-value read proves too optimistic.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to TradeWAT trades on a US exchange. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
Every Entry, As Written
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved up 9.5% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 4%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 22%. The street (21 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $401.
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 4%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 22%. The street (21 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $401.
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns.
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
- Q1 Research Tools & Consumables Earnings Review: First Prize Goes to Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) StockStory · 17 Jul 2026
- Waters Corporation's Quarterly Earnings Preview: What You Need to Know Barchart · 13 Jul 2026
- 2 Large-Cap Stocks to Keep an Eye On and 1 We Ignore StockStory · 3 Jul 2026
- Waters Corporation (WAT): Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q1 Earnings? StockStory · 24 Jun 2026
- Waters Corporation Stock: Is WAT Underperforming the Health Care Sector? Barchart · 17 Jun 2026
Headlines from third-party outlets, linked for reference: not our reporting, not advice.
Screened names in the same industry · explore each on its own page.
| Date | Insider | Title | Type | Shares | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-06 | Kuebler Christopher A | Dir | S - Sale+OE | 3,626 | $1,442,930 |
| 2026-03-31 | JIANG WEI | Director | 64 | · | |
| 2026-03-31 | KNIGHT HEATHER | Director | 68 | · | |
| 2026-03-16 | JIANG WEI | Director | 500 | $144,730 | |
| 2026-03-06 | FEARON RICHARD H | Director | 1,000 | $306,340 | |
| 2026-02-25 | ORNSKOV FLEMMING | Director | 336 | · | |
| 2026-02-25 | CHAUBAL AMOL | Chief Financial Officer | 1,455 | · | |
| 2026-02-25 | BATRA UDIT | Chief Executive Officer | 5,165 | · | |
| 2026-02-25 | FRASER CLAIRE | Director | 358 | · | |
| 2026-02-25 | VERGNANO MARK P | Director | 23 | · |
Public filings, recorded as found. The full tape lives at Insider Intelligence.
| Date | Politician | Party | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-19 | Ro Khanna | Democrat | buy | 1K–15K |
| 2026-08-19 | Ro Khanna | Democrat | buy | 1K–15K |
| 2026-08-19 | Ro Khanna | Democrat | buy | 1K–15K |
| 2026-08-13 | Kevin Hern | Republican | sell | 1K–15K |
| 2026-08-13 | Kevin Hern | Republican | sell | 1K–15K |
| Period | Price then | Price return | Divs per share | $1,000 became | Total return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $348.07 | +4.3% | · | $1,043 | +4.3% |
| 2 months | $320.00 | +13.5% | · | $1,135 | +13.5% |
| 3 months | $283.32 | +28.2% | · | $1,282 | +28.2% |
| 6 months | $392.21 | -7.4% | · | $926 | -7.4% |
| 1 year | $349.84 | +3.8% | · | $1,038 | +3.8% |
| 2 years | $301.47 | +20.5% | · | $1,205 | +20.5% |
| 3 years | $249.28 | +45.7% | · | $1,457 | +45.7% |
| 5 years | $336.58 | +7.9% | · | $1,079 | +7.9% |
Historical returns from market close data. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
This entry now belongs to the ledger. Whatever WAT does next, these words stay.
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Join the deskScreening is research, not a fatwa and not financial advice. Figures are drawn from public accounts at the screen date shown. Always manage your risk.