Reviewing IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) and West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST)

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) and West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) are both large-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares IDEXX Laboratories and West Pharmaceutical Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IDEXX Laboratories	25.03%	71.96%	33.60%
West Pharmaceutical Services	16.98%	20.11%	14.83%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for IDEXX Laboratories and West Pharmaceutical Services, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IDEXX Laboratories	0	5	6	0	2.55
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	2	12	0	2.86

IDEXX Laboratories currently has a consensus price target of $747.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.57%. West Pharmaceutical Services has a consensus price target of $385.33, indicating a potential upside of 4.90%. Given IDEXX Laboratories’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe IDEXX Laboratories is more favorable than West Pharmaceutical Services.

Risk and Volatility

IDEXX Laboratories has a beta of 1.55, meaning that its stock price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares IDEXX Laboratories and West Pharmaceutical Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IDEXX Laboratories	$4.30 billion	9.59	$1.06 billion	$14.22	36.85
West Pharmaceutical Services	$3.33 billion	7.77	$493.70 million	$7.81	47.03

IDEXX Laboratories has higher revenue and earnings than West Pharmaceutical Services. IDEXX Laboratories 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.

Summary

IDEXX Laboratories beats West Pharmaceutical Services on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy. It also provides point-of-care veterinary diagnostic products, including instruments, consumables, and rapid assay test kits; veterinary reference laboratory diagnostic and consulting services; practice management and diagnostic imaging systems and services for veterinarians; and health monitoring, biological materials testing, and laboratory diagnostic instruments, and services for biomedical research community. In addition, the company offers diagnostic and health-monitoring products for livestock, poultry, and dairy; products that test water for various microbiological contaminants; point-of-care electrolytes and blood gas analyzers; in-clinic chemistry, blood and urine chemistry, hematology, immunoassay, urinalysis, and coagulation analyzers; and SNAP rapid assays test kits. Further, it provides Colilert, Colilert-18, and Colisure tests, which detect the presence of total coliforms and E. coli in water; Enterolert, Pseudalert, Filta-Max and Filta-Max xpress, Legiolert, and Quanti-Tray products; and veterinary software and services for independent veterinary clinics and corporate groups. Additionally, the company offers human medical point-of-care products and laboratory diagnostics services. The company markets its products through marketing, customer service, sales, and technical service groups, as well as through independent distributors and other resellers. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Westbrook, Maine.

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.