StockNews.com Downgrades West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) to Hold

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WST. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. KeyCorp cut their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $470.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $203.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52-week low of $197.01 and a 52-week high of $400.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $318.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $748.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $739.59 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 18.62%. On average, equities analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.58 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 stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 40 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 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.