What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after major indices including the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply as investors reacted to escalating uncertainty tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict and policy deadlines set by the Trump administration. Markets dislike unpredictability, and these fears were amplified, raising concerns of prolonged conflict and rising oil prices. This negative outlook reflected in consumer confidence, with the University of Michigan's sentiment index sliding to a three-month low.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Surgical Equipment & Consumables - Diversified company CONMED (NYSE: CNMD) fell 3.3%. Is now the time to buy CONMED? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Research Tools & Consumables company Bruker (NASDAQ: BRKR) fell 3%. Is now the time to buy Bruker? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Research Tools & Consumables company Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Waters Corporation? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Research Tools & Consumables company Avantor (NYSE: AVTR) fell 2.5%. Is now the time to buy Avantor? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Research Tools & Consumables company Bio-Techne (NASDAQ: TECH) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Bio-Techne? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Waters Corporation (WAT)

Waters Corporation’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 9 months ago when the stock dropped 12.8% on the news that the company announced a definitive agreement to merge with the Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business of Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) in a deal valued at approximately $17.5 billion. The transaction was structured as a Reverse Morris Trust, a tax-efficient way to combine the two entities. Upon completion, current Waters shareholders are expected to own about 60.8% of the new, larger company. While the deal was intended to create a life science and diagnostics leader, the significant drop in share price suggests investor apprehension.

Waters Corporation is down 24% since the beginning of the year, and at $290.39 per share, it is trading 29.6% below its 52-week high of $412.54 from November 2025. Despite the year-to-date decline, investors who bought $1,000 worth of Waters Corporation’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,022.

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