West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Rating Increased to Buy at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) was upgraded by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a $250.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.38% from the company’s current price.

WST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WST opened at $199.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 3.00. West Pharmaceutical Services has a fifty-two week low of $197.01 and a fifty-two week high of $408.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.33.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.07. West Pharmaceutical Services had a return on equity of 18.41% and a net margin of 17.37%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in West Pharmaceutical Services in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 110 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 93.90% of the stock is 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.