West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST) has experienced a rise in its stock price by 18.39 compared to its previous closing price of 286.44. However, the company has seen a gain of 17.48% in its stock price over the last five trading days. zacks.com reported 2024-10-24 that West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.85 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.16 per share a year ago.
Is It Worth Investing in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST) Right Now?
The price-to-earnings ratio for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST) is above average at 48.23x. The 36-month beta value for WST is also noteworthy at 1.01. There are mixed opinions on the stock, with 1 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 3 rating it as “overweight,” 2 rating it as “hold,” and 1 rating it as “sell.”
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The public float for WST is 72.12M, and at present, short sellers hold a 2.00% of that float. The average trading volume of WST on October 24, 2024 was 585.27K shares.
WST’s Market Performance
The stock of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) has seen a 17.48% increase in the past week, with a 11.80% rise in the past month, and a 19.09% gain in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 2.00%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 2.28% for WST. The simple moving average for the past 20 days is 14.77% for WST’s stock, with a 0.24% simple moving average for the past 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 13.00% 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 -18.03% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 2.28%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 2.00%, as shares surge +10.59% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading +16.24% upper at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, WST rose by +17.67%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by -2.77% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $295.50. In addition, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. saw -3.69% 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 8.43. 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 summary, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) has had a mixed performance as of late. Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with some viewing it as a “buy” and others as a “hold”. It is worth mentioning that the stock is currently trading in close proximity to its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
