Positioning political selling, disclosed 2026-08-13
Options no verdict drawn today, left as found
Ethical passes the values gate
Price423.92 USD
Fair value407.01
Ethical score80.4/100
RatingFAIR VALUE
Our investment reviews on this name
2026-09-16Read Markdown404.81+4.7% to today
2026-07-02Read Markup365.36+16.0% to today ✓
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
Waters Corporation holds its Accumulation at $423.92. The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 1 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-09-21
Phase
Accumulation
Quantitative state
The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 1 days
Price at the screen
$423.92
Valuation
107.32 trailing · 25.62 forward price to earnings
Values screen
PASS· score 80.4
Beta
1.19
The Workings
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 Worth
The Fair Value Range
Our framework reads FAIR VALUE: it trades above our $407.01 fair value estimate, narrow competitive moat, 113.40% revenue growth.
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-09-21 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. The price runs 4.0% above the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 23 covering, consensus Buy. The average target sits +6% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Our more conservative model reads it as fully-to-richly valued here, while the Street is more bullish: a quality-at-a-fair-price name rather than a deep-value one.
Price History & Projections
Where 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 2026-09-21 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 Words
Lab 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.
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 Trade
WAT 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.
The Dated Journal · Newest First, Never Edited
Every Entry, As Written
2026-09-16Markdown · changed$404.81+1.2%Entry 5
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.
2026-08-16Markup$400.00+9.5%Entry 4
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.
2026-07-18Markup$365.36+0.0%Entry 3
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.
2026-07-03Markup$365.36+0.0%Entry 2
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.
2026-07-02Markup$365.36Entry 1
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.
