West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $300.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $267.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.17. The company has a market cap of $21.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $202.79 and a 12 month high of $330.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.68 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,920.41. This represents a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total transaction of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,135,905.60. The trade was 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 945 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.7% in the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 410 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.