09:50 AM EDT, 05/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We keep our target price at $315, 23.9x our 2025 EPS view, in line with WAT's 10-year historical forward P/E average. We cut our 2024 EPS estimate to $11.75 from $11.79, which stands at the low end of the reiterated guidance range. We keep our 2025 view at $13.20. Q1 EPS of $2.21 vs. $2.49 (-11% Y/Y), came in $0.13 above our estimate and $0.12 above the consensus view, driven by slightly better-than-expected top-line revenue and margin expansion. WAT reported Q1 net sales of $637M, down 7% Y/Y, $1M above consensus and $28M above our forecast. Due to continued softness, sales to China declined by 30% Y/Y in Q1 but were slightly better than the anticipated 40% Y/Y. Overall, sales across regions declined due to a challenging business environment driven by capex constraints with Americas organic revenue -8% Y/Y, Europe -3% Y/Y and Asia -16% Y/Y. While WAT expects improvement through 2024, we still think its shares offer limited upside potential given the uncertainties the firm has to navigate this year.