West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $322.8889.

WST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

WST stock opened at $317.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $278.81 and a 200-day moving average of $266.71. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $206.10 and a 12-month high of $330.88. The company has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.46, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.17.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $844.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $779.68 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities analysts expect that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total transaction of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 4,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 4,990 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 85.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 644,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $161,428,000 after acquiring an additional 296,639 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the period. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. 93.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

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.