West Pharmaceutical Services Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:WST)

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 2,133 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 453% compared to the typical daily volume of 386 put options.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Down 12.4 %

Shares of WST traded down $40.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $283.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,122,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,426. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.95. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 52-week low of $265.00 and a 52-week high of $415.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $327.04 and its 200 day moving average is $356.77. The firm has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 1.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.27. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 19.42% and a return on equity of 20.57%. The company had revenue of $695.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $670.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total transaction of $24,198,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,063,718.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Eric Mark Green sold 66,000 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.65, for a total value of $24,198,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,063,718.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Silji Abraham sold 1,800 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.78, for a total transaction of $595,404.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,030.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 155.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 97 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth $40,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.