West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $400.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $391.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $392.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 2.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $223.83 and a 12 month high of $397.15. The company has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $362.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $337.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 20.11% and a net margin of 16.98%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In related news, VP Annette Favorite sold 2,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.00, for a total transaction of $921,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 21,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,963,570. This trade represents a 10.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 15,659 shares of company stock worth $5,443,749 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.5% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,131 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.1% in the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 945 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5.4% during the third quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 708 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after buying an additional 43 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 develops and manufactures components and delivery systems used in the administration and packaging of injectable medicines and other healthcare products. Its offerings include elastomer closures, seals, syringe components, drug-delivery systems, and other specialized packaging components designed to support the safety, quality, and performance of pharmaceutical products.

The company also provides contract-manufacturing services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device customers.