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Based in Exton, Pennsylvania, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (WST) designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products. Valued at a market cap of $22.06 billion, the company specializes in designing and manufacturing high-quality packaging components and delivery systems for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare industries.
Shares of this company have significantly underperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. WST has declined 22.8% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 28.1%. In 2024, shares of WST are down 13.7%, compared to SPX’s 18.3% gain on a YTD basis.
Zooming in further, WST’s underperformance becomes evident when compared to the First Trust Indxx Global Medical Devices ETF’s (MDEV) 10.9% gains over the past 52 weeks and 6.2% return on a YTD basis.
Shares of WST fell 14.4% on Jul. 25 following its Q2 earnings release. The company’s earnings of $1.52 fell short of the Street forecasts of $1.77. Also, the company’s revenue stood at $702.10 million, missing Wall Street estimates of $737.7 million. WST expects full-year earnings between $6.35 and $6.65 per share, with revenue between $2.87 billion and $2.9 billion.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect WST’s EPS to decline 20.3% year over year to $6.44. The company’s earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimates in three of the last four quarters while missing on another occasion.
Among the eight analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Strong Buy.” That’s based on six “Strong Buy” ratings and two “Holds.”
On Jun. 20, Jefferies analyst David Windley maintained a “Buy” rating on West Pharmaceutical Services and raised the price target to $426.
The mean price target of $361.25 represents a premium of 19.3% to WST’s current levels. The Street-high price target of $470 implies a potential upside of 55.2%.
On the date of publication, Rashmi Kumari did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
