West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST – Get Free Report) and Silk Road Medical (NASDAQ:SILK – Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.
Profitability
This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Silk Road Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| West Pharmaceutical Services | 18.25% | 19.17% | 14.38% |
| Silk Road Medical | -29.53% | -37.30% | -21.57% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Silk Road Medical shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| West Pharmaceutical Services | $2.95 billion | 7.62 | $593.40 million | $7.58 | 40.88 |
| Silk Road Medical | $177.13 million | 6.31 | -$55.74 million | ($1.37) | -20.07 |
West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than Silk Road Medical. Silk Road Medical 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.
Risk & Volatility
West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Silk Road Medical has a beta of 1.53, suggesting that its share price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for West Pharmaceutical Services and Silk Road Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| West Pharmaceutical Services | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
| Silk Road Medical | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1.78 |
West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus target price of $442.75, suggesting a potential upside of 42.89%. Silk Road Medical has a consensus target price of $20.29, suggesting a potential downside of 26.21%. Given West Pharmaceutical Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe West Pharmaceutical Services is more favorable than Silk Road Medical.
Summary
West Pharmaceutical Services beats Silk Road Medical on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About Silk Road Medical
Silk Road Medical, Inc operates as a medical device company in the United States. The company offers various products for the treatment of carotid artery disease called transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR). Its products comprise ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System that is used to directly access the common carotid artery and establish temporary blood flow reversal; ENROUTE Transcarotid Stent System for transcarotid access; ENHANCE Transcarotid Peripheral Access Kit, which is used to gain initial access to the common carotid artery; ENROUTE 0.014 Guidewire for atraumatic vessel navigation and target lesion crossing for delivery of interventional devices; and ENROUTE Enflate Transcarotid RX Balloon Dilation Catheter, a transcarotid rapid exchange balloon for the TCAR procedure. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
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