West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $360.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.91.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WST opened at $312.77 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $285.07 and a 200 day moving average of $267.94. The stock has a market cap of $22.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.18. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $206.19 and a 12 month high of $330.88. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $779.68 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 17th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total value of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 945 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 410 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 13,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.