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

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WST. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.20.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of WST opened at $341.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $331.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.12. West Pharmaceutical Services has a one year low of $265.00 and a one year high of $413.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.72, a PEG ratio of 19.71 and a beta of 1.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WST. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 10,060 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 lifted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 5,074.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 689,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $225,851,000 after buying an additional 676,167 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 21.8% during 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 buying an additional 122,361 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 199.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 595,775 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $178,828,000 after acquiring an additional 396,780 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.