West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $322.8889.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. 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. 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. Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,704,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,545,899,000 after acquiring an additional 388,144 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $715,884,000 after acquiring an additional 68,330 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,850,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $784,259,000 after acquiring an additional 79,481 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,869,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $512,250,000 after acquiring an additional 11,962 shares during the period. Finally, Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 1,561,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $429,733,000 after acquiring an additional 585,855 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $322.27 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.33. The firm has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $206.10 and a 12-month high of $330.88.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.