West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on WST. Citigroup assumed coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE WST opened at $343.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $265.00 and a 1-year high of $413.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $330.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.08. The company has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a PE ratio of 51.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 239 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 320 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,980 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.