Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $452,000 in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WST. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in the first quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in West Pharmaceutical Services during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in West Pharmaceutical Services by 573.3% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 587.5% during the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 83.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 275 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Price Performance

Shares of WST stock opened at $273.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $269.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $244.21. The firm has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.08. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.43 and a 1-year high of $348.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.87 and a quick ratio of 2.18.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $804.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $788.42 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.29% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.060-7.110 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WST has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on West Pharmaceutical Services from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $345.00 target price on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research lowered West Pharmaceutical Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $349.20.

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.