Critical Review: INVO Bioscience (NASDAQ:INVO) and West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST)

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and INVO Bioscience (NASDAQ:INVO) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.0% of INVO Bioscience shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of INVO Bioscience shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for West Pharmaceutical Services and INVO Bioscience, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	1	3	0	2.75
INVO Bioscience	0	0	0	0	N/A

West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus price target of $442.75, indicating a potential upside of 37.47%. Given West Pharmaceutical Services’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe West Pharmaceutical Services is more favorable than INVO Bioscience.

Profitability

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and INVO Bioscience’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Pharmaceutical Services	19.42%	20.57%	15.47%
INVO Bioscience	-459.42%	N/A	-88.87%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and INVO Bioscience’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Pharmaceutical Services	$2.93 billion	8.01	$593.40 million	$7.58	42.49
INVO Bioscience	$3.02 million	1.21	-$8.03 million	N/A	N/A

West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than INVO Bioscience.

Volatility and Risk

West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, INVO Bioscience has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

West Pharmaceutical Services beats INVO Bioscience on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

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. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging components. This segment also provides drug containment solutions, including Crystal Zenith, a cyclic olefin polymer in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices; and a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. The company serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It sells and distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, contract sales agents, and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

About INVO Bioscience

INVO Bioscience, Inc., together with its subsidiary, a healthcare services fertility company, provides assisted reproductive technology solutions worldwide. It offers INVOcell, a medical device that allows fertilization and early embryo development to take place in vivo within the woman's body. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Sarasota, Florida.