Stephens upgrades West Pharmaceutical amid ‘fear of missing out’

As previously reported, Stephens analyst Jacob Johnson upgraded West Pharmaceutical to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $400, up from $330. The firm, which has been constructive on the business, had been sitting on the sidelines over the last six months while looking for an opportunity to upgrade, but with investors looking for companies where they can have visibility into near-term trends, "it seems [West] has a bid every day, and we have a serious fear of missing out," the analyst tells investors. While the firm doesn’t "love" the near-term valuation and would prefer to buy on pullbacks, Stephens argues that West is "expensive for a reason" given its dominant market share, growing end-markets and quality management team.