Barclays has resumed coverage of Waters Corp. (NYSE:WAT), putting an Overweight rating on the stock and attaching a $400.00 price target. That target reflects approximately a 22% potential upside from the current quote of $328.14. InvestingPro data cited in the report indicates the stock is trading beneath what the service considers its Fair Value.
In its note, Barclays pointed to the firmwide opportunity created by Waters' recent acquisition deal with Becton Dickinson. The research team acknowledged that the initial market reaction to the transaction was negative, but argued the combination still contains material upside. Barclays described the synergy targets publicized alongside the acquisition as conservative and said there is "plenty of room for upside" beyond those goals.
Barclays also flagged the recent pullback in Waters shares - a decline that it said has affected the broader sector - as an attractive entry point. The bank emphasized management's track record in turning around businesses and extracting value as a reason to treat the share-price weakness as a buying opportunity.
Even on a base-case where management merely achieves the outlined synergy targets, Barclays projects mid-teens EPS growth for Waters in coming years. That pace, the firm contends, would position Waters toward the upper end of its peer group and justify a premium valuation multiple.
Those analyst views come against Waters' most recent reported financials. For the fourth quarter of 2025, Waters posted adjusted earnings per share of $4.53, narrowly topping the consensus of $4.51. Revenue for the quarter reached $932 million, marginally above the $928.09 million that had been expected. Despite the modest beats, Waters issued a profit forecast for the first quarter that disappointed analysts: management guided to earnings in the $2.25 to $2.35 per-share range, below the $2.51 per-share estimate. That lower-than-expected near-term outlook contributed to downward pressure on the stock.
Independent of Barclays' coverage restart, Evercore ISI also resumed coverage of Waters and assigned an In Line rating with a $360.00 price target. According to the Evercore note, the decision followed a roughly 13% drop in Waters' shares, which the analyst attributed to three factors identified in its coverage. The Evercore assessment signals a more cautious stance relative to Barclays.
Taken together, the analyst moves and the company's quarterly results illustrate a mixed picture: near-term guidance that disappointed expectations weighed on sentiment, while buy-side research highlights the potential for upside tied to acquisition synergies and projected EPS growth. Investors and market participants will be watching how integration progress and execution against synergy targets unfold in the months ahead.