Critical Survey: West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Autonomix Medical (NASDAQ:AMIX)

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Autonomix Medical (NASDAQ:AMIX) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.8% of Autonomix Medical shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of Autonomix Medical shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Autonomix Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Pharmaceutical Services	16.98%	20.11%	14.83%
Autonomix Medical	N/A	-239.36%	-192.46%

Volatility and Risk

West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.15, suggesting that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Autonomix Medical has a beta of -1.17, suggesting that its share price is 217% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Autonomix Medical”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Pharmaceutical Services	$3.07 billion	7.94	$493.70 million	$7.81	44.40
Autonomix Medical	N/A	N/A	-$16.72 million	($74.58)	-0.09

West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than Autonomix Medical. Autonomix Medical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Pharmaceutical Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for West Pharmaceutical Services and Autonomix Medical, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	3	11	1	2.87
Autonomix Medical	1	1	1	0	2.00

West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus target price of $368.08, indicating a potential upside of 6.14%. Autonomix Medical has a consensus target price of $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 512.24%. Given Autonomix Medical’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Autonomix Medical is more favorable than West Pharmaceutical Services.

Summary

West Pharmaceutical Services beats Autonomix Medical on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging components. This segment also provides drug containment solutions, including Crystal Zenith, a cyclic olefin polymer in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices; and a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. The company serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It sells and distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, contract sales agents, and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

About Autonomix Medical

Autonomix Medical, Inc., a development stage medical device development company, focuses on advancing technologies for sensing and treating disorders relating to the peripheral nervous system. Its technology platform includes a catheter-based microchip-enabled sensing array to detect and differentiate peripheral neural signals. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is based in The Woodlands, Texas.