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

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WSTGet Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on 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 assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.20.

View Our Latest Analysis on WST

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of WST stock opened at $343.82 on Friday. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 12-month low of $265.00 and a 12-month high of $413.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 3.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $330.91 and a 200-day moving average of $314.08. The company has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.01, a P/E/G ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 1.00.

Institutional Trading of West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $520,569,000 after buying an additional 12,850 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after purchasing an additional 676,167 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 122,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% in the third 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. Institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST)

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