13,668 Shares in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Bought by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 13,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,426,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bayban acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $355.55.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 1.1%

WST traded down $3.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $353.69. 446,112 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 763,998. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.80 and a 1 year high of $367.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.99 billion, a PE ratio of 47.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $328.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS 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 company had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.