West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts have also commented on WST. UBS Group upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $403.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $323.06 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $332.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $315.13. The company has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1 year low of $265.00 and a 1 year high of $408.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,020,000 after purchasing an additional 203,198 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,214,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $964,850,000 after buying an additional 10,060 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,110,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,019,007,000 after acquiring an additional 44,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,778,940 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $581,209,000 after acquiring an additional 38,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $290,604,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.