Bank of America Boosts West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Price Target to $355.00

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) had its target price lifted by Bank of America from $350.00 to $355.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 7.97% from the company’s previous close.

WST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST traded down $2.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $328.80. The stock had a trading volume of 78,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,033. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12 month low of $265.00 and a 12 month high of $413.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $312.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a PE ratio of 48.34, a PEG ratio of 24.14 and a beta of 1.01.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.35. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 17.37% and a return on equity of 18.41%. The business had revenue of $746.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles Witherspoon sold 703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.40, for a total value of $218,211.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $388,931.20. The trade was a 35.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $964,850,000 after acquiring an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,740,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $520,569,000 after buying an additional 12,850 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 683,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,114,000 after buying an additional 122,361 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after buying an additional 396,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 593,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $195,556,000 after acquiring an additional 37,702 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.