Analysts Have Lowered Expectations For West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) After Its Latest Results
There's been a notable change in appetite for West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) shares in the week since its yearly report, with the stock down 12% to US$362. West Pharmaceutical Services reported in line with analyst predictions, delivering revenues of US$2.9b and statutory earnings per share of US$7.88, suggesting the business is executing well and in line with its plan. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.
See our latest analysis for West Pharmaceutical Services
After the latest results, the ten analysts covering West Pharmaceutical Services are now predicting revenues of US$3.01b in 2024. If met, this would reflect a credible 2.0% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to decrease 5.7% to US$7.56 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$3.22b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$8.73 in 2024. From this we can that sentiment has definitely become more bearish after the latest results, leading to lower revenue forecasts and a substantial drop in earnings per share estimates.
Despite the cuts to forecast earnings, there was no real change to the US$385 price target, showing that the analysts don't think the changes have a meaningful impact on its intrinsic value. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. The most optimistic West Pharmaceutical Services analyst has a price target of US$470 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$327. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.
Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that West Pharmaceutical Services' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 2.0% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 13% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 6.1% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that West Pharmaceutical Services is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.
Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple West Pharmaceutical Services analysts - going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.
Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
