Waters (WAT) needed shaking up, and new CEO Udit Batra is doing exactly that. In addition to what Batra has cited as weak execution under prior management, I believe complacency and a lack of strategic vision (and/or a lack of understanding where the life sciences and biopharma markets were heading) put Waters on its back foot, leading to unimpressive performance relative to names like Agilent (A), Bruker (BRKR), Danaher (DHR), and Thermo Fisher (TMO) over the last five years.
I'm a fan of what Batra is doing with Waters, and I think the company is already emerging as a more formidable player. The only issue is that the market seems fully onto this story, if not ahead of the curve. While I do believe this new, better, strategic path can deliver better financial results, it's hard for me to see how that isn't already captured in the share price (and then some).
Read more here:
Waters Back On The Right Path, But The Valuation Is Well Down The Road
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