Should You Invest in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) Now?

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST) has a higher price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06x compared to its average ratio, The 36-month beta value for WST is at 1.01. Analysts have varying views on the stock, with 1 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 3 rating it as “overweight,” 2 as “hold,” and 1 as “sell.”

The public float for WST is 72.12M, and currently, shorts hold a 2.00% of that float. The average trading volume for WST on October 18, 2024 was 585.18K shares.

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WST) stock’s latest price update

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST)’s stock price has plunge by -0.11relation to previous closing price of 288.99. Nevertheless, the company has seen a -0.49% plunge in its stock price over the last five trading sessions. zacks.com reported 2024-10-17 that West Pharmaceutical (WST) doesn’t possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.

WST’s Market Performance

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) has experienced a -0.49% fall in stock performance for the past week, with a -6.64% drop in the past month, and a -9.20% drop in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 2.68%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 2.30% for WST. The simple moving average for the last 20 days is -3.01% for WST stock, with a simple moving average of -14.96% for the last 200 days.

Analysts’ Opinion of WST

Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for WST stocks, with Jefferies repeating the rating for WST by listing it as a “Buy.” The predicted price for WST in the upcoming period, according to Jefferies is $536 based on the research report published on February 07, 2024 of the current year 2024.

BofA Securities, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see WST reach a price target of $405, previously predicting the price at $390. The rating they have provided for WST stocks is “Buy” according to the report published on June 16th, 2023.

Stephens gave a rating of “Overweight” to WST, setting the target price at $400 in the report published on April 11th of the previous year.

WST Trading at -3.60% from the 50-Day Moving Average

After a stumble in the market that brought WST to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -30.22% of loss for the given period.

Volatility was left at 2.30%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 2.68%, as shares sank -7.24% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading -1.74% lower at present.

During the last 5 trading sessions, WST fell by -0.49%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by -17.22% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $297.60. In addition, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. saw -18.02% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further losses.

Insider Trading

Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at WST starting from Witherspoon Charles, who sale 1,029 shares at the price of $300.00 back on Aug 19 ’24. After this action, Witherspoon Charles now owns 1,478 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., valued at $308,700 using the latest closing price.

Hofmann Thomas W, the Director of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., sale 617 shares at $365.92 during a trade that took place back on May 10 ’24, which means that Hofmann Thomas W is holding 43,565 shares at $225,773 based on the most recent closing price.

Stock Fundamentals for WST

Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:

  • 0.21 for the present operating margin
  • 0.36 for the gross margin

The net margin for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. stands at 0.18. The total capital return value is set at 0.21. Equity return is now at value 19.72, with 14.66 for asset returns.

Based on West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST), the company’s capital structure generated 0.08 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 3.31. The debt to equity ratio resting at 0.09. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 82.19.

Currently, EBITDA for the company is 875.7 million with net debt to EBITDA at -0.17. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 7.23. The receivables turnover for the company is 5.73for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.82. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 2.34.

Conclusion

In conclusion, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) has had a bad performance lately. Opinion on the stock among analysts is mixed, with some giving it a “buy” rating and others a “hold”. It’s important to note that the stock is currently trading at a significant distance from its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.

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