West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Upgraded at Rothschild Redb

Key Points

• West Pharmaceutical Services was upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Rothschild Redb, reflecting increased confidence in the company's stock.
• The company's shares opened at $257.73 and are currently projected to have a consensus target price of $318.56 from analysts, with mixed ratings overall.
• In its latest earnings report, West Pharmaceutical Services reported $1.84 EPS, exceeding expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue growth of 9.2%.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Rothschild Redb to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Partners set a $311.00 target price on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.56.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $254.69. 1,297,599 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 534,419. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52-week low of $187.43 and a 52-week high of $352.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $244.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.78. The company has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.05.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.33. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 16.48%.The firm had revenue of $766.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $725.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,135 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 8,218 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,609 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 39,818 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $13,043,000 after acquiring an additional 3,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,073,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.