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Waters Corp WAT

Morningstar Rating
$310.25 −3.05 (0.97%)
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Company Report

Waters' Wide Moat Intact, Despite Biopharma Spending Delays

Waters' tools help clients perform scientific research by providing analytical instruments, services, and supplies. The company specializes in liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry products (nearly 90% of sales), which are used primarily by pharmaceutical firms to analyze a molecule’s structure during the drug discovery, development, and production processes. These tools can also be used in food and environmental quality testing as well as other industrial applications. Additionally, Waters helps scientists examine the physical properties of various materials through its thermal analysis tools (low-double digits percentage).

Price vs Fair Value

WAT is trading at a 7% discount.
Price
$299.23
Fair Value
$213.00
Uncertainty
Medium
1-Star Price
$195.89
5-Star Price
$271.40
Economic Moat
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Capital Allocation
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Bulls Say, Bears Say

Bulls

Waters' analytical instruments remain the gold standard in several applications, especially LC-MS for pharmaceutical firms, where regulations preserve consistent recurring sales for many years.

Bears

Waters remains an extremely focused organization, which creates the potential for cash flow variability if its products fall out of favor or if its end markets face disruption.

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News

Trading Information

Previous Close Price
$313.30
Day Range
$304.97316.06
52-Week Range
$231.90363.80
Bid/Ask
$217.21 / $316.73
Market Cap
$18.40 Bil
Volume/Avg
530,956 / 414,113

Key Statistics

Price/Earnings (Normalized)
26.40
Price/Sales
6.22
Dividend Yield (Trailing)
Dividend Yield (Forward)
Total Yield
0.38%

Company Profile

Water sells liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and thermal analysis tools. These analytical instruments provide essential information on various products, such as their molecular structures and physical properties, to help clients enhance the health and well-being of end users. As a percentage of sales in 2022, Waters generated 59% from pharmaceutical customers, 31% from industrial clients, and 10% from academic/government institutions.
Sector
Healthcare
Industry
Diagnostics & Research
Stock Style Box
Mid Growth
Total Number of Employees
7,900

Competitors

Valuation

Metric
WAT
DHR
TMO
Price/Earnings (Normalized)
26.4030.9926.68
Price/Book Value
15.963.474.75
Price/Sales
6.228.295.20
Price/Cash Flow
21.8128.2425.05
Price/Earnings
WAT
DHR
TMO

Financial Strength

Metric
WAT
DHR
TMO
Quick Ratio
1.391.341.27
Current Ratio
2.221.851.75
Interest Coverage
8.2815.854.94
Quick Ratio
WAT
DHR
TMO

Profitability

Metric
WAT
DHR
TMO
Return on Assets (Normalized)
17.19%5.15%8.68%
Return on Equity (Normalized)
88.59%8.40%18.83%
Return on Invested Capital (Normalized)
25.75%6.02%11.14%
Return on Assets
WAT
DHR
TMO
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IQV
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IDXX
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A
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MTD
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ICLR
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ILMN
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LH
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