KeyCorp Has Lowered Expectations for West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Stock Price

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) had its target price dropped by research analysts at KeyCorp from $470.00 to $325.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. KeyCorp’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 46.31% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on WST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup began coverage on West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $350.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, West Pharmaceutical Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.00.

West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Performance

Shares of WST stock traded up $23.02 on Friday, hitting $222.13. 2,266,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 670,323. The company has a market capitalization of $16.09 billion, a PE ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $330.01 and its 200 day moving average is $314.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.23. West Pharmaceutical Services has a 1-year low of $197.01 and a 1-year high of $400.88.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On West Pharmaceutical Services

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning boosted its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,371 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,119,000 after acquiring an additional 3,526 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in West Pharmaceutical Services by 44.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,195 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,160,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 13.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $809,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $304,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

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.