West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $340.0909.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WST. Barclays raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. 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.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $329.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $307.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.80. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $206.80 and a 12-month high of $336.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $779.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. The company’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. Equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 39.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.0% in the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 4,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.9% in the first quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 4,990 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 644,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $161,428,000 after buying an additional 296,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at about $54,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.