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West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) Stock Price, News & Analysis

$309.20
+13.34 (+4.51%)
(As of 09/18/2024 ET)

About West Pharmaceutical Services Stock (NYSE:WST)

Key Stats

Today's Range
$296.00
$313.29
50-Day Range
$277.16
$333.25
52-Week Range
$265.00
$413.70
Volume
693,097 shs
Average Volume
547,636 shs
Market Capitalization
$22.43 billion
P/E Ratio
40.79
Dividend Yield
0.26%
Price Target
$442.75
Consensus Rating
Moderate Buy

Company Overview

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.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

See Top Rated MarketRank™ Stocks

Overall MarketRank™: 99th Percentile

West Pharmaceutical Services scored higher than 99% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 9th out of 1,016 stocks in the medical sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

  • Consensus Rating

    West Pharmaceutical Services has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.75, and is based on 3 buy ratings, 1 hold rating, and no sell ratings.

  • Amount of Analyst Coverage

    West Pharmaceutical Services has received no research coverage in the past 90 days.

  • Read more about West Pharmaceutical Services' stock forecast and price target.
  • Earnings Growth

    Earnings for West Pharmaceutical Services are expected to grow by 17.91% in the coming year, from $6.42 to $7.57 per share.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

    The P/E ratio of West Pharmaceutical Services is 40.79, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 134.17.

  • Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

    The P/E ratio of West Pharmaceutical Services is 40.79, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 140.22.

  • Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

    West Pharmaceutical Services has a PEG Ratio of 10.58. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

  • Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

    West Pharmaceutical Services has a P/B Ratio of 7.87. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

  • Read more about West Pharmaceutical Services' valuation and earnings.
  • Percentage of Shares Shorted

    2.12% of the float of West Pharmaceutical Services has been sold short.
  • Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

    West Pharmaceutical Services has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.5, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
  • Change versus previous month

    Short interest in West Pharmaceutical Services has recently increased by 21.43%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.
  • Dividend Yield

    West Pharmaceutical Services has a dividend yield of 0.27%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

  • Dividend Growth

    West Pharmaceutical Services has been increasing its dividend for 31 years.

  • Dividend Coverage

    The dividend payout ratio of West Pharmaceutical Services is 10.55%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

  • Dividend Sustainability

    Based on earnings estimates, West Pharmaceutical Services will have a dividend payout ratio of 10.57% next year. This indicates that West Pharmaceutical Services will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

  • Read more about West Pharmaceutical Services' dividend.
  • Percentage of Shares Shorted

    2.12% of the float of West Pharmaceutical Services has been sold short.
  • Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

    West Pharmaceutical Services has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.5, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.
  • Change versus previous month

    Short interest in West Pharmaceutical Services has recently increased by 21.43%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.
  • News Sentiment

    West Pharmaceutical Services has a news sentiment score of 1.36. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.68 average news sentiment score of Medical companies.
  • News Coverage This Week

    MarketBeat has tracked 9 news articles for West Pharmaceutical Services this week, compared to 6 articles on an average week.
  • MarketBeat Follows

    Only 2 people have added West Pharmaceutical Services to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -75% compared to the previous 30 days.
  • Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

    In the past three months, West Pharmaceutical Services insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $308,700.00 in company stock.

  • Percentage Held by Insiders

    Only 0.53% of the stock of West Pharmaceutical Services is held by insiders.

  • Percentage Held by Institutions

    93.90% of the stock of West Pharmaceutical Services is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

  • Read more about West Pharmaceutical Services' insider trading history.

WST Stock News Headlines

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Trading Up 4.3%
Massive shakeup in defense contracting
There is a little-known energy technology stock that has made an incredible breakthrough… Which could become crucial to the operations of the US Military. And right now there are plans for this stock to undertake a major test project at a US Air Force based in Alaska. Now, this incredible breakthrough is still in its earliest stages… Which means you still have a chance to get in while its trading for under $10.
West to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
See More Headlines

WST Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

West Pharmaceutical Services' stock was trading at $352.12 on January 1st, 2024. Since then, WST shares have decreased by 12.2% and is now trading at $309.20.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here
.

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July, 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.22. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript
.

West Pharmaceutical Services's stock reverse split on the morning of Saturday, January 1st 2000. The 0.75-1.5 reverse split was announced on Saturday, January 1st 2000. The number of shares owned by shareholders was adjusted after the closing bell on Friday, September 27th 2013. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the reverse split would have 50 shares after the split.

The following companies are subsidiaries of West Pharmaceutical Services: Drug Delivery Assets From Plastef Investissements SA, Medimop Medical Projects Ltd., The Tech Group Inc., Tech Group Europe Limited (dba West), Tech Group Grand Rapids Inc. (dba West), TGPR Holdings Limited, WD SG Pte. Ltd., and others.

West Pharmaceutical Services' top institutional shareholders include Bank of New York Mellon Corp (4.49%), APG Asset Management N.V. (3.20%), Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA (0.87%) and Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC (0.82%). Insiders that own company stock include Eric Mark Green, Thomas W Hofmann, Quintin J Lai, Annette F Favorite, Bernard Birkett, Cindy Reiss-Clark, Silji Abraham, Charles Witherspoon and Chad Winters.
View institutional ownership trends
.

Shares of WST stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that West Pharmaceutical Services investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), AbbVie (ABBV), Walt Disney (DIS), Home Depot (HD), Visa (V) and Alibaba Group (BABA).

Company Calendar

Last Earnings
7/25/2024
Ex-Dividend for 8/7 Dividend
7/31/2024
Dividend Payable
8/07/2024
Today
9/18/2024
Next Earnings (Estimated)
10/24/2024
Fiscal Year End
12/31/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

Sector
Medical
Industry
Surgical & medical instruments
Sub-Industry
Health Care Supplies
CUSIP
95530610
Employees
10,600
Year Founded
1923

Price Target and Rating

Average Stock Price Target
$442.75
High Stock Price Target
$536.00
Low Stock Price Target
$375.00
Potential Upside/Downside
+43.2%
Consensus Rating
Moderate Buy
Rating Score (0-4)
2.75
Research Coverage
4 Analysts

Profitability

Net Income
$593.40 million
Pretax Margin
21.25%

Debt

Sales & Book Value

Annual Sales
$2.95 billion
Cash Flow
$10.60 per share
Book Value
$39.31 per share

Miscellaneous

Free Float
72,457,000
Market Cap
$22.43 billion
Optionable
Optionable
Beta
1.01

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Should I Buy West Pharmaceutical Services Stock? WST Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Sunday, September 8, 2024. Please send any questions or comments about these West Pharmaceutical Services pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

West Pharmaceutical Services
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.:

  • West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a strong institutional investor base, with significant holdings from reputable firms like Vanguard Group Inc., Franklin Resources Inc., and Artisan Partners Limited Partnership, indicating confidence in the company's future prospects.
  • Recent insider selling activities, such as VP Charles Witherspoon and SVP Silji Abraham selling shares at higher prices, could be seen as a positive sign by investors, suggesting that company insiders believe in the stock's potential for growth.
  • Despite missing earnings estimates in the last quarter, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a solid track record of profitability and a healthy return on equity, which may attract investors looking for stable returns.
  • The current stock price of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. is at $300.52, which could present a buying opportunity for investors seeking to enter the market at a potentially lower valuation.
  • With a diverse geographic presence across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has exposure to multiple markets, reducing dependency on any single region for revenue.

West Pharmaceutical Services
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

Investors should be bearish about investing in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. for these reasons:

  • West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. recently reported lower-than-expected earnings and revenue figures, indicating potential challenges in meeting market expectations and sustaining growth in the short term.
  • The stock price of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has experienced a decline from its 52-week high of $415.73 to $300.52, which may raise concerns about the company's ability to maintain its valuation and growth trajectory.
  • Company insiders selling shares could be interpreted as a lack of confidence in the stock's future performance, potentially signaling underlying issues that investors should consider before making investment decisions.
  • The company's P/E ratio of 39.65 and PEG ratio of 10.68 suggest that the stock may be trading at a premium compared to its earnings growth potential, which could deter value-oriented investors seeking undervalued opportunities.
  • West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. operates in the healthcare sector, which is subject to regulatory risks, market volatility, and potential disruptions, posing challenges for investors looking for stable and predictable returns.

This page (NYSE:WST) was last updated on 9/18/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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