Norges Bank Takes Position in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 917,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $200,813,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 193.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 573.3% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 587.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $274.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.47. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.43 and a fifty-two week high of $348.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.29. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm had revenue of $804.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $788.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.060-7.110 EPS. Equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WST shares. Barclays increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Cowen started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $320.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $345.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.36.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.