BNP Paribas Exane Begins Coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST)

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services with an outperform rating and a $447 price target, implying about 26% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts remain constructive overall: the stock has a consensus Buy rating and an average target price of $363.17, though recent targets vary from Morgan Stanley’s $365 to Evercore’s $410.
• West Pharmaceutical recently reported strong quarterly results, including $2.13 EPS versus $1.68 expected and revenue of $844.9 million, up 21% year over year.

Equities research analysts at BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $447.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier's stock. BNP Paribas Exane's price objective points to a potential upside of 26.38% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $375.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $363.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

WST opened at $353.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $206.80 and a 12-month high of $367.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $328.15 and a 200-day moving average of $281.94. The stock has a market cap of $24.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.28, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.16.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.750 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.120 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,920.41. This represents a 37.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 16,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. This represents a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,041,000. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 1,561,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $429,733,000 after purchasing an additional 585,855 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,174,962 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $323,280,000 after purchasing an additional 473,547 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at $123,667,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 420.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 545,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $142,949,000 after buying an additional 440,929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company's stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.

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