West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Acquired by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its ownership of West Pharmaceutical Services by 58.6%, now holding 20,449 shares valued at approximately $4.47 million.
• West Pharmaceutical Services reported earnings of $1.96 per share for the recent quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.7%.
• Analysts have varied ratings on the stock, with two analysts issuing a Strong Buy rating, while the average target price is set at $326.33.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST - Free Report) by 58.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,449 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 7,555 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $4,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.0% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 185 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 587.5% in the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 220 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 275 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 11.0%

NYSE:WST opened at $307.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $352.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.39.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.The business had revenue of $804.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $788.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.060-7.110 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WST. Rothschild Redb upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Zacks Research cut West Pharmaceutical Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $285.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $326.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products.

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