Waters Corporation operates as an analytical instrument manufacturer primarily in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. It designs, manufactures, sells, and services high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), and mass spectrometry (MS) instrument systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans. The company also designs, manufactures, sells, and services thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments, which are used in predicting the suitability of polymers and viscous liquids for various industrial, consumer goods, and health care products. In addition, it develops and supplies software based products that interface with the company’s instruments, as well as other manufacturers’ instruments. Further, the company’s LC and MS are used in a range of industries to detect, identify, monitor, and measure the chemical, physical, and biological composition of materials, as well as to purify various compounds, which are used in drug discovery and development, including clinical trial testing, the analysis of proteins in disease processes, food safety analysis, and environmental testing. Waters Corporation offers its products to multi-national pharmaceutical companies, generic drug manufacturers, biotechnology companies, chemical manufacturers, polymer manufacturers, food and beverage companies, environmental testing laboratories, universities, and government agencies. The company was founded in 1958 and is based in Milford, Massachusetts.
Analysts'
Recommendation: | Buy |
| 30 Days Ago: | Buy |
|
| Analysts' Target: | $64 |
| Analysts' Targets |
| UBS Securities | $64 |
| Hold |
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
|
Guru: Jim Stack
Newsletter: InvesTech
BUY: Waters Corporation
(nyse: WAT)
Waters Corporation is a medium-sized company
based in Milford, Mass. which designs,
manufactures, and services high performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry
(MS) instrument systems. This complex
equipment is designed for the relatively
simple concept of separating and identifying
chemicals. Its products help test air and water
quality, analyze nutritional content of foods
and develop drugs. Within the pharmaceutical
and life science industries, its most significant
end-use market, HPLC is used to identify
new drugs, develop manufacturing methods,
and to assure the potency and purity of
new pharmaceuticals.
Approximately 68% of Waters' sales come
from international markets—the Asian markets,
particularly China and India, continue to
produce strong results for the company.
The company's commanding
market share and technological
leadership have helped produce a
strong record of earnings growth
and an enviable level of profitability. Waters'
free cash flow as a percentage of sales is currently
17% compared to 7% for the S&P 500
Index. We conservatively forecast sustainable
earnings per share growth in the 14%-16%
range.
KEY STATS:
Recent Price: $62.06
52 Week High: $81.84
52 Week Low:$51.92
Market Cap ($BIL): $5.5
2007 Revenues ($BIL):$1.5
2007 Net Income ($MIL): $268.07
2007 EPS:$2.62
2007 Gross Margin: 56.6
2008 Est. EPS:$3.21
2008 Est. P/E: 17.1
Dividend Yield (%): NA
Short Interest/float (%): 3.5
Forbes Gurus---25 Stocks, ETFs and Funds for the Second Half 2008
22
(nyse: WAT)
$62.7 (07/19/08)
