West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to “Hold” from “Buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with 12 Buy ratings and 2 Hold ratings and an average price target of $391.17.
• West opened at $392.00, near its 52-week high of $397.15, and trades at a P/E ratio of 50.19. The stock was recently down 0.5%.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.37 in EPS versus the $2.08 consensus and revenue of $872.3 million, up 13.8% year over year; institutional investors own 93.9% of its shares.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on WST. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $391.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.5%

WST opened at $392.00 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $362.02 and its 200-day moving average is $337.18. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $223.83 and a 1-year high of $397.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.19, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.13.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%. West Pharmaceutical Services's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Annette Favorite sold 8,135 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $340.81, for a total transaction of $2,772,489.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,740,944.45. This trade represents a 32.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the second quarter worth $2,387,990,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,348,698 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,202,183,000 after buying an additional 54,920 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $733,733,000. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $728,168,000. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter worth about $214,196,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc develops and manufactures components and delivery systems used in the administration and packaging of injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its offerings include elastomer closures, seals, syringe components, drug-delivery systems, and other specialized packaging components designed to support the safety, quality, and performance of pharmaceutical products.

The company also provides contract-manufacturing services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device customers.

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