West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp increased their target price on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays raised West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $400.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $447.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.08.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $346.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.15. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52-week low of $223.83 and a 52-week high of $386.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.12 and a current ratio of 2.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $345.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.38.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.98 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 20.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.140-2.240 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.850-9.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 8.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 90.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 105 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bayban bought a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently 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.