West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $345.28 and last traded at $345.3490, with a volume of 19890 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $336.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WST shares. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $360.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $310.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.09.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $275.06.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $779.67 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.750 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total transaction of $859,748.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. This represents a 14.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total value of $269,400.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,271,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $715,884,000 after buying an additional 68,330 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,850,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $784,259,000 after acquiring an additional 79,481 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,869,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $512,250,000 after acquiring an additional 11,962 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP increased its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 1,561,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $429,733,000 after acquiring an additional 585,855 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,531,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $421,476,000 after acquiring an additional 53,229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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.